Idwal Pugh
Encyclopedia
Sir Idwal Vaughan Pugh CB
KCB (10 February 1918 - 21 April 2010) was a civil servant who was Permanent Secretary
at the Welsh Office
and distinguished himself as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales (Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman).
to Rhys, a quarryman and later bus conductor, and Elizabeth, a schoolteacher. He was raised by relatives in Ton Pentre
in the Rhondda Valley and educated at Cowbridge Grammar School
. He won an Open Scholarship to study Mods and Greats at St John's College, Oxford
and graduated in 1940 whereupon he joined the Army
. Pugh served in the Royal Army Service Corps
before transferring to the 7th Armoured Division (desert rats), with which he served at El Alamein
, in Sicily
and Italy
. He also served on the staff of Field Marshal Alexander
in Caserta
. Pugh had reached the rank of Major when he was demobilised in 1946.
. Pugh moved to the Ministry of Transport as Assistant Secretary, where he was put in charge of the Road Transport Division in 1956. In this role, Pugh dealt with angry road hauliers during the fuel shortages caused by the Suez crisis
. He also spent two years as civil air attaché
in Washington, D.C. before he was promoted in 1959 to Under-Secretary. Pugh moved to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government
in 1961, where he became Deputy Secretary. During his time there, he chaired an inter-departmental inquiry into ways of modernising the planning system and his proposals for fewer and more independent planning authorities were broadly accepted by the government. In 1969, Pugh became Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Office before moving to the much enlarged Department of the Environment
in 1971 to serve with the Secretary of State for the Environment
, Peter Walker
as Second Permanent Secretary. At the Department, Pugh acquired a dislike of the Treasury
but nevertheless acquitted himself well during a challenging time.
Pugh was dauntless in his criticism of maladministration within both Government departments and the National Health Service
. He also brought with him an attitude that the Office should be more than a mere tool for Members of Parliament. To Pugh, the Office was the servant of the public. In this spirit, Pugh modified the filter system that required members of the public to take their complaints to the Ombudsman through their MPs. In March 1978, Pugh permitted complaints to be made directly to the Office. If the complaint was investigable, it would be sent to the relevant MP who would be asked if a full investigation was wanted. Pugh achieved greater publicity for his role and functions through public appearances, posters and the use of the colloquial term 'Ombudsman', a word more readily understood by the public. He was rewarded with a record number of referrals: 1,259 in 1978 from 461 MPs.
After investigating a particularly serious instance of maladministration by the Department of Health and Social Security
, Pugh was scathing in his criticism. It was discovered that the Department had denied Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway
the full amount of his disability war pension for 23 years despite knowing what the full amount should be. Pugh blasted this deceit and branded it deplorable. Twenty-five officers were found to have been treated similarly and the Director of Public Prosecutions
considered whether charges should be brought against the officials concerned. Such was the public outcry, the Secretary of State for Social Services
David Ennals was forced to apologise and new rules were established that forbade civil servants from denying a claimant their entitlement when owed money by a government department.
Jack Ashley MP referred a complaint to Pugh concerning the policy about whooping cough vaccination. It was complained that the Government had not made available to parents all the information that they should have had before agreeing to have their children vaccinated. Pugh found that responsibility for the policy rested with the Government and that it had not fully recognised its responsibility to provide information to both doctors and the public. With respect to the latter, Pugh found maladministration. However, the report was not enthusiastically endorsed by Ashley nor the complainants, who thought that Pugh ought to have condemned the departments concerned more roundly. Pugh maintained that parents were being told everything as far as was reasonably possible and that the report could be used to place pressure for compensation for children who suffered brain damage as a result of vaccination.
For Health Service complaints, Pugh was aided in his desire to publicise the functions of the office by the ability of the public to take their complaints directly to the Office. Pugh commented that this gives my jurisdiction a directness and immediacy which I welcome. During his tenure, Pugh uncovered a number of shocking examples of National Health Service maladministration. A doctor who discharged a 103-year old patient at 2am on a winter's night who subsequently died was called inhuman by Pugh. Pugh found that a consultant had acted wrongly when he sterilised a woman who had gone into hospital for an abortion without her knowledge. A woman was found to have been wrongfully admitted to a hospital under the Mental Health Act 1959 and detained for 29 days longer than she should have been. When Pugh reported, the health authority offered just £150 in compensation, a figure the Select Committee increased to £1,000. The volume of health complaint cases grew rapidly during Pugh's time at the Office: from 582 in 1976-7 to 712 in 1978-9. Notably, there was a high uphold rate in the cases fully investigated. It was also pointed out that it was rare for the Health Ombudsman's recommendations not to be accepted.
When Pugh handed over to his successor, he urged civil servants to take note of the mounting complaints from the public about their rudeness and oppressive behaviour.
as a director of Standard Chartered Bank
and the Halifax Building Society. Pugh also became Chairman of the Hodge Group and Hodge Finance, founded by his friend Julian Hodge. He was chairman of the Development Corporation for Wales between 1980 and 1983 and the President of the Cardiff Business Club between 1991 and 1998.
Pugh also assumed academic posts, serving as Chairman of the Royal Northern College of Music
from 1988 to 1992 and President of Coleg Harlech
between 1990 and 1998. To his delight, he was made an honorary Fellow of St John's College
and he moved from Cardiff
to Oxford
, taking a university course in composition. Pugh indulged in his love of music, particularly playing his Steinway
piano
and listening to Bach
. He was still taking lessons in composition and the piano in 2010. Pugh also spent time reading and walking and became an accomplished cook.
Pugh died in April 2010. His wife, Mair Lewis, died in 1985.
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 (10 February 1918 - 21 April 2010) was a civil servant who was Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
at the Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
and distinguished himself as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales (Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman).
Early life and war service
Pugh was born in 1918 in Blaenau FfestiniogBlaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...
to Rhys, a quarryman and later bus conductor, and Elizabeth, a schoolteacher. He was raised by relatives in Ton Pentre
Ton Pentre
Ton Pentre is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district of Ystradyfodwg was named after the church at Ton Pentre...
in the Rhondda Valley and educated at Cowbridge Grammar School
Cowbridge Grammar School
Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by a comprehensive school.Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling and refounded by Sir Leoline Jenkins, it had close links with Jesus College, Oxford. The school took both...
. He won an Open Scholarship to study Mods and Greats at St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
and graduated in 1940 whereupon he joined the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Pugh served in the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
before transferring to the 7th Armoured Division (desert rats), with which he served at El Alamein
Battle of El Alamein
There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in Egypt in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein at .* First Battle of El Alamein – 1–27 July 1942...
, in Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
and Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
. He also served on the staff of Field Marshal Alexander
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis
Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis was a British military commander and field marshal of Anglo-Irish descent who served with distinction in both world wars and, afterwards, as Governor General of Canada, the 17th since Canadian...
in Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
. Pugh had reached the rank of Major when he was demobilised in 1946.
Civil service
Pugh joined the Ministry of Civil Aviation as an Assistant Principal in 1946, where he organised supplies and chartered aircraft for the Berlin Airlift. He was also a delegate to the International Civil Aviation Organisation in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Pugh moved to the Ministry of Transport as Assistant Secretary, where he was put in charge of the Road Transport Division in 1956. In this role, Pugh dealt with angry road hauliers during the fuel shortages caused by the Suez crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
. He also spent two years as civil air attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
in Washington, D.C. before he was promoted in 1959 to Under-Secretary. Pugh moved to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government
Ministry of Housing and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government....
in 1961, where he became Deputy Secretary. During his time there, he chaired an inter-departmental inquiry into ways of modernising the planning system and his proposals for fewer and more independent planning authorities were broadly accepted by the government. In 1969, Pugh became Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Office before moving to the much enlarged Department of the Environment
Department of the Environment
Department of the Environment or Department for the Environment may refer to:-Australia:* Department of the Environment and Water Resources...
in 1971 to serve with the Secretary of State for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
, Peter Walker
Peter Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester
Peter Edward Walker, Baron Walker of Worcester, MBE, PC , was British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet as the Environment Secretary , Trade and Industry Secretary , Agriculture Minister , Energy Secretary and Welsh Secretary...
as Second Permanent Secretary. At the Department, Pugh acquired a dislike of the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
but nevertheless acquitted himself well during a challenging time.
Ombudsman
In 1976, Pugh was appointed Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. He would shape the role and demonstrated characteristics of toughness, rigid fairness, accuracy and independence. For his acceptance of the post, he was shunned by his former colleagues in government departments.Pugh was dauntless in his criticism of maladministration within both Government departments and 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...
. He also brought with him an attitude that the Office should be more than a mere tool for Members of Parliament. To Pugh, the Office was the servant of the public. In this spirit, Pugh modified the filter system that required members of the public to take their complaints to the Ombudsman through their MPs. In March 1978, Pugh permitted complaints to be made directly to the Office. If the complaint was investigable, it would be sent to the relevant MP who would be asked if a full investigation was wanted. Pugh achieved greater publicity for his role and functions through public appearances, posters and the use of the colloquial term 'Ombudsman', a word more readily understood by the public. He was rewarded with a record number of referrals: 1,259 in 1978 from 461 MPs.
After investigating a particularly serious instance of maladministration by 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:...
, Pugh was scathing in his criticism. It was discovered that the Department had denied Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway
Terence Otway
Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Brandram Hastings Otway DSO, was a British soldier, best known for his role as commander of the paratroop assault on the Merville Battery on D-Day.-Early life:...
the full amount of his disability war pension for 23 years despite knowing what the full amount should be. Pugh blasted this deceit and branded it deplorable. Twenty-five officers were found to have been treated similarly and the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
considered whether charges should be brought against the officials concerned. Such was the public outcry, the Secretary of State for Social Services
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry...
David Ennals was forced to apologise and new rules were established that forbade civil servants from denying a claimant their entitlement when owed money by a government department.
Jack Ashley MP referred a complaint to Pugh concerning the policy about whooping cough vaccination. It was complained that the Government had not made available to parents all the information that they should have had before agreeing to have their children vaccinated. Pugh found that responsibility for the policy rested with the Government and that it had not fully recognised its responsibility to provide information to both doctors and the public. With respect to the latter, Pugh found maladministration. However, the report was not enthusiastically endorsed by Ashley nor the complainants, who thought that Pugh ought to have condemned the departments concerned more roundly. Pugh maintained that parents were being told everything as far as was reasonably possible and that the report could be used to place pressure for compensation for children who suffered brain damage as a result of vaccination.
For Health Service complaints, Pugh was aided in his desire to publicise the functions of the office by the ability of the public to take their complaints directly to the Office. Pugh commented that this gives my jurisdiction a directness and immediacy which I welcome. During his tenure, Pugh uncovered a number of shocking examples of National Health Service maladministration. A doctor who discharged a 103-year old patient at 2am on a winter's night who subsequently died was called inhuman by Pugh. Pugh found that a consultant had acted wrongly when he sterilised a woman who had gone into hospital for an abortion without her knowledge. A woman was found to have been wrongfully admitted to a hospital under the Mental Health Act 1959 and detained for 29 days longer than she should have been. When Pugh reported, the health authority offered just £150 in compensation, a figure the Select Committee increased to £1,000. The volume of health complaint cases grew rapidly during Pugh's time at the Office: from 582 in 1976-7 to 712 in 1978-9. Notably, there was a high uphold rate in the cases fully investigated. It was also pointed out that it was rare for the Health Ombudsman's recommendations not to be accepted.
When Pugh handed over to his successor, he urged civil servants to take note of the mounting complaints from the public about their rudeness and oppressive behaviour.
The City and retirement
After stepping down from the post of Ombudsman in 1978, Pugh worked in the CityCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
as a director of Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered PLC is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom with operations in more than seventy countries...
and the Halifax Building Society. Pugh also became Chairman of the Hodge Group and Hodge Finance, founded by his friend Julian Hodge. He was chairman of the Development Corporation for Wales between 1980 and 1983 and the President of the Cardiff Business Club between 1991 and 1998.
Pugh also assumed academic posts, serving as Chairman of the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
from 1988 to 1992 and President of Coleg Harlech
Coleg Harlech
Coleg Harlech is a further education college for mature students in Harlech, Gwynedd.It is Wales' only long-term, mature students education college and was established in 1927 by Thomas Jones , Cabinet Secretary to both David Lloyd George and Stanley Baldwin, to continue the work of Workers'...
between 1990 and 1998. To his delight, he was made an honorary Fellow of St John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
and he moved from Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, taking a university course in composition. Pugh indulged in his love of music, particularly playing his Steinway
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and listening to Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. He was still taking lessons in composition and the piano in 2010. Pugh also spent time reading and walking and became an accomplished cook.
Pugh died in April 2010. His wife, Mair Lewis, died in 1985.