ombudesmen Flashcards
history
from old norse word meaning reresentative
modern concept started in sweden
UKs first obudsman
parliamentary ombudsman
parliamentary commissioner for administration covers the central government departments
seperate NHS ombudsman
(together are the PHSO)
why do we have PHSO
provides a service where the public can complain against government departments
when can the ombudman be contacted
after normal complaint procedures have been exhausted
first your local MP
then MP can refer to the PSHO
investigation
if found to have acted unlawfully the commissioner may certify the offence to the court
if certified the court will deal with them in relation to the offence
maladministration v illegality
the PHSO looks for maladministration not legality
maladministration
bias, neglect, innatention, delay, incompetence….
lord denning- no definition, up to ombudsman to interpret
pmbudsman principles of good administration
getting it right
applying law correctly
customer focused
accessibility
open
transparency
fairly
equality
putting things right
acknowledges mistakes
seeks improvment
learns from mistakes
redress
after maladminstration has been found and caused injury the ombudsman makes recommendations
such as apology, award benefit denied, change decision or compensation
PHSO enforcement
no power to enforce recomendations
if public body refuses then a report can be laid before parliament, generating public pressure
PPO- prison and probation ombudsman
carries out independent investigations into complaints and deaths in custody
3 main duties of PPO
investigate complaints- made by prisoners
investigate deaths of prisoners
investigate deaths of recently released prisoners within 14 days of release
purpose of PPO
to understand what happened and to correct injustice
