Alan Marre
Encyclopedia
Sir Alan Samuel Marre CB
KCB (25 February 1914 - 20 March 1990) was a civil servant, serving most notably as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and as the first Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales.
Marre was the son of an immigrant tobacconist
and was educated at St Olave's Grammar School
in Orpington
, Kent
. He went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge
where he achieved a double first.
He joined the Ministry of Health
and was Assistant Principal in 1936. He became, in turn, Principal in 1941, Assistant Secretary in 1946 and then Under-Secretary
between 1952 and 1963. Marre moved to the Ministry of Labour
and served as Under-Secretary until 1964. He was appointed Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Health, where he stayed until 1966 when he returned to the Ministry of Labour as Deputy Secretary. In 1968, Marre became the Second Permanent Under-Secretary of State and the Department of Health and Social Security
.
During his time at the Ministry of Health, Marre met Mary Gilling, a philosophy graduate. They became married and she became distinguished in her own right in both public and charitable life.
as Parliamentary Ombudsman in 1971. He was confronted by a distinct lack of case work. The number of cases handled by the Office had fallen from 1,120 in 1968 to just 548 in 1971. Marre considered that it could be necessary to see if the Office could think of any new way of stimulating some publicity. Marre determined to bring the work of the Office more fully into the public eye and made efforts to respond positively to requests from the press, radio and television for interviews and participation in programmes. Meetings of interested people were addressed by both Marre and his officers. Consequently, there was a growth in case work for the Office.
Marre made greater use of his powers under s10(4) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967
to issue special reports. Two instances where such powers were used were in the reports issued into complaints concerning overlapping television licences
and the collapse of the Court Line
group of companies.
Many complaints were made by people who had obtained television licences before the fee was due to be increased on 1 April 1975. The Home Office
decided to offer the holders of such 'overlapping' licences a choice between paying the difference between the old and the new licence fee and having their new licences revoked after they had received their money's worth at the old rate. In his investigation, Marre did not feel entitled to question the merits of the decision reached by the Home Office, but did criticise the inefficiency and lack of foresight shown by the Home Office prior to the decision being made. The Home Office accepted Marre's findings and the Home Secretary
, Roy Jenkins
, expressed regret for the distress and confusion that had been caused. The report paved the way for a challenge in the Court of Appeal
where it was held that the Home Office had acted unlawfully. The Home Office subsequently paid refunds to holders of overlapping licences who had already paid the difference in fees.
When the Court Line group collapsed in August 1974, complaints were made to the Ombudsman about statements made in the House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Industry, Tony Benn
. Marre investigated whether the statements by Benn had misled holidaymakers about the safety of their bookings with Court Line when there were rumours that the company was imperilled. This was a reversal of the decision by Sir Edmund Compton in the earlier Duccio case that a ministerial statement was not an instance of administration open to investigation. Marre concluded carefully that in the absence of a qualification to the statements made, the statements were bound to leave a misleading impression with the public and that the Government could not be absolved of all responsibility for losses insurred by holidaymakers. Supporters of the Government were critical of the report, arguing that Marre had exceeded his remit as Ombudsman by criticising 'policy' instead of 'administration'. The Government rejected Marre's findings and, in the subsequent debate, the House of Commons split on party lines. The Government won the debate, but the Office enhanced its credibility in demonstrating both its independence and its ability to criticise a Minister.
Marre was also appointed as the first Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales when the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973
came into force. This followed pressure from within Parliament from those who had sought to include health matters within the remit of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 and from those members of the public who were dissatisfied with the existing complaints handling procedure. Marre assumed this new post in October 1973 and was empowered to investigate maladministration and service failures by hospitals. Matters of clinical judgment were noticeably outside his remit. Marre recruited a mixture of civil servants and medical staff for the new posts created for the Health Ombudsman. He also sought publicity for his new responsibilities but still observed that his functions were still not widely enough known and understood. Marre instituted a two-stage procedure for health investigations: a screening stage and a subsequent stage where the Ombudsman would determine the form of the investigation. By the end of his tenure as Ombudsman, Marre had firmly established the Office as a fundamental feature of complaints about the National Health Service
.
between 1977 and 1980 and of the British Nutritional Foundation between 1981 and 1990. He was also a trustee of the Whitechapel Art Gallery between 1977 and 1983. Although Marre had not been a practising Jew, he gave some of his time to Jewish social and cultural causes, becoming President of the Maccabaeans
in 1982.
Sir Alan Marre died in 1990.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
KCB (25 February 1914 - 20 March 1990) was a civil servant, serving most notably as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and as the first Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales.
Marre was the son of an immigrant tobacconist
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and was educated at St Olave's Grammar School
St Olave's Grammar School
St Olave's and St Saviour's Grammar School is a super-selective boys' secondary school in Orpington, Greater London, England. The school is consistently one of the top achieving state schools in the UK and it was The Sunday Times State School of the Year in 2008...
in Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
where he achieved a double first.
He joined the Ministry of Health
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Health may refer to:*Ministry of Health *Ministry of Health *Ministry of Health *Ministry of Health...
and was Assistant Principal in 1936. He became, in turn, Principal in 1941, Assistant Secretary in 1946 and then Under-Secretary
Undersecretary
An under secretary is an executive government official in many countries, frequently a career public servant, who typically acts as a senior administrator or second-in-command to a politically-appointed Cabinet Minister or other government official...
between 1952 and 1963. Marre moved to the Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour was a British civil service department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It was renamed the Employment Department in 1988, and finally abolished in 1995...
and served as Under-Secretary until 1964. He was appointed Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Health, where he stayed until 1966 when he returned to the Ministry of Labour as Deputy Secretary. In 1968, Marre became the Second Permanent Under-Secretary of State and the Department of Health and Social Security
Department of Health and Social Security
The Department of Health and Social Security was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Social Services.-History:...
.
During his time at the Ministry of Health, Marre met Mary Gilling, a philosophy graduate. They became married and she became distinguished in her own right in both public and charitable life.
Ombudsman
Marre succeeded Sir Edmund ComptonEdmund Compton
Sir Edmund Gerald Compton CB KCB GCB KBE was a civil servant and the first Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.-Early life:...
as Parliamentary Ombudsman in 1971. He was confronted by a distinct lack of case work. The number of cases handled by the Office had fallen from 1,120 in 1968 to just 548 in 1971. Marre considered that it could be necessary to see if the Office could think of any new way of stimulating some publicity. Marre determined to bring the work of the Office more fully into the public eye and made efforts to respond positively to requests from the press, radio and television for interviews and participation in programmes. Meetings of interested people were addressed by both Marre and his officers. Consequently, there was a growth in case work for the Office.
Marre made greater use of his powers under s10(4) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967
Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967
The Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It established the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration . The Ombudsman is responsible for investigating the administrative actions of central government departments and public...
to issue special reports. Two instances where such powers were used were in the reports issued into complaints concerning overlapping television licences
Television licensing in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, any household watching or recording live television transmissions is required to purchase a television licence every year. As of 2010, this costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for black and white. The licence is required to receive any live...
and the collapse of the Court Line
Court Line
Court Line was a prominent British holiday charter airline during the early 1970s based at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It also provided bus services in Luton and surrounding areas....
group of companies.
Many complaints were made by people who had obtained television licences before the fee was due to be increased on 1 April 1975. The Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
decided to offer the holders of such 'overlapping' licences a choice between paying the difference between the old and the new licence fee and having their new licences revoked after they had received their money's worth at the old rate. In his investigation, Marre did not feel entitled to question the merits of the decision reached by the Home Office, but did criticise the inefficiency and lack of foresight shown by the Home Office prior to the decision being made. The Home Office accepted Marre's findings and the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, expressed regret for the distress and confusion that had been caused. The report paved the way for a challenge in the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
where it was held that the Home Office had acted unlawfully. The Home Office subsequently paid refunds to holders of overlapping licences who had already paid the difference in fees.
When the Court Line group collapsed in August 1974, complaints were made to the Ombudsman about statements made in the House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Industry, Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
. Marre investigated whether the statements by Benn had misled holidaymakers about the safety of their bookings with Court Line when there were rumours that the company was imperilled. This was a reversal of the decision by Sir Edmund Compton in the earlier Duccio case that a ministerial statement was not an instance of administration open to investigation. Marre concluded carefully that in the absence of a qualification to the statements made, the statements were bound to leave a misleading impression with the public and that the Government could not be absolved of all responsibility for losses insurred by holidaymakers. Supporters of the Government were critical of the report, arguing that Marre had exceeded his remit as Ombudsman by criticising 'policy' instead of 'administration'. The Government rejected Marre's findings and, in the subsequent debate, the House of Commons split on party lines. The Government won the debate, but the Office enhanced its credibility in demonstrating both its independence and its ability to criticise a Minister.
Marre was also appointed as the first Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales when the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973
National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973
The National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The purpose of the Act was to reorganise the National Health Service....
came into force. This followed pressure from within Parliament from those who had sought to include health matters within the remit of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 and from those members of the public who were dissatisfied with the existing complaints handling procedure. Marre assumed this new post in October 1973 and was empowered to investigate maladministration and service failures by hospitals. Matters of clinical judgment were noticeably outside his remit. Marre recruited a mixture of civil servants and medical staff for the new posts created for the Health Ombudsman. He also sought publicity for his new responsibilities but still observed that his functions were still not widely enough known and understood. Marre instituted a two-stage procedure for health investigations: a screening stage and a subsequent stage where the Ombudsman would determine the form of the investigation. By the end of his tenure as Ombudsman, Marre had firmly established the Office as a fundamental feature of complaints about the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
.
Retirement
In retirement, Marre engaged in a number of charitable and public activities. He served as the Chairman of Age Concern EnglandAge Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
between 1977 and 1980 and of the British Nutritional Foundation between 1981 and 1990. He was also a trustee of the Whitechapel Art Gallery between 1977 and 1983. Although Marre had not been a practising Jew, he gave some of his time to Jewish social and cultural causes, becoming President of the Maccabaeans
Maccabaeans
The Maccabaeans is an Anglo-Jewish charity. Started in 1891, it is a friendly society, established in 1894, and registered on the 8th of May, 1901, under the Friendly Societies' Act, as amended 1896...
in 1982.
Sir Alan Marre died in 1990.