Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Encyclopedia
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman comprises the offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) and the Health Service Commissioner for England (HSC). It is the official ombudsman
institution responsible for investigating complaints regarding whether governmental departments, agencies and some other public bodies in the United Kingdom
, and the National Health Service
(NHS) in England
, have acted properly or fairly, or have provided poor service. The Ombudsman's offices are in Millbank Tower
, London.
The posts of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman are attached to the Westminster Parliament, with additional posts at the Scottish Parliament
, the Welsh Assembly and other government institutions.
. The position was created, and his or her powers are documented in, the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967
, the most notable section of which is section 4 and Schedule 2, which constrain the powers of the incumbent ombudsman. Amongst other things, the ombudsman cannot investigate crime
, national security, foreign affairs, the armed forces and other civil services. The position of HSC was created later, under the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993
. The office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman emphasises that it looks into complaints "that government departments, their agencies and some other public bodies in the UK – and the NHS in England – have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service." The first UK Ombudsman was Sir Edmund Compton who had previously been the Comptroller and Auditor General
. He was succeeded by Sir Alan Marre
, a career civil servant. He was the first Ombudsman appointed for the National Health Service and combined that role with that of the Parliamentary Ombudsman as have all his successors. He later became chairman of Age Concern
and the post is currently held by Ann Abraham
(since 2002). She is a former director of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux.
(MP); this is known as the 'MP filter', which checks the legitimacy of complaints. In many cases, an MP attempts to solve the problem themselves, though the effectiveness of this can be called into question. Secondly, the Ombudsman rejects many complaints at first instance. In 2009-10, 11,066 enquiries were received, but only 356 were accepted for investigation. Finally, the ombudsman will not investigate complaints where recourse to an alternate remedy (tribunal, internal complaints etc.) exists. This can be extremely offputting for complainants, most of whom do not want to get involved in this process. If a complainant can plough through all this, complaint resolution normally takes about 40 weeks.
Putting a complaint to the HSC
is simpler in that no MP filter is operated. However, it is generally expected that complaints have been first put to the NHS body complained about. The HSC
since April 2009 is the final stage of the complaints process.
influence to make an authority change its decision. The Ombudsman does not exist to complain about the merits of a decision. For example, in 1996 those suffering 'planning blight' on their houses due to the creation of the Channel Tunnel
were eventually awarded compensation without admission of fault
or liability
.
Finally, the Ombudsman's decision may be challenged by judicial review under normal public law grounds. This happens rarely, but does occur. For example, in R v PCA, Ex Parte Dyer [1994], a complaint was investigated and a report issued. The complainant to the Ombudsman was not satisfied with the report or the process leading to it and challenged the Ombudsman's actions. The Ombudsman viewed the matter as concluded. The complainant commenced a judicial review action. The judge confirmed that the Ombudsman was amenable to judicial review but the court would not readily interfere with the Ombudsman's exercise of his discretion as the intended width of his powers was clear from the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967. The Rules of Natural Justice did not require that the applicant should see his report before he had sent a copy to the Department complained of. The discretion conferred on him by the Act did not include the power to reopen an investigation. The Ombudsman's processes have changed under the tenure of Ann Abraham and reports are to be shared with both the complainant and the public body prior to the conclusion of the matter.
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
institution responsible for investigating complaints regarding whether governmental departments, agencies and some other public bodies in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, 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...
(NHS) in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, have acted properly or fairly, or have provided poor service. The Ombudsman's offices are in Millbank Tower
Millbank Tower
Millbank Tower is a high skyscraper in the City of Westminster at Millbank, on the banks of the River Thames in London, in the United Kingdom. The Tower was constructed in 1963 for Vickers and was originally known as Vickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners and built by John...
, London.
The posts of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman are attached to the Westminster Parliament, with additional posts at the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, the Welsh Assembly and other government institutions.
History
The creation of the post of the Parliamentary Ombudsman was spurred on by the 1954 Crichel Down affair and by the activism of pressure groups, including the Society for Individual FreedomSociety for Individual Freedom
The Society for Individual Freedom is a United Kingdom-based association of libertarians, classical liberals, free-market conservatives and others promoting individual freedom....
. The position was created, and his or her powers are documented in, the 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...
, the most notable section of which is section 4 and Schedule 2, which constrain the powers of the incumbent ombudsman. Amongst other things, the ombudsman cannot investigate crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, national security, foreign affairs, the armed forces and other civil services. The position of HSC was created later, under the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993
Health Service Commissioners Act 1993
The Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Act consolidated previous legislation governing the posts of Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales....
. The office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman emphasises that it looks into complaints "that government departments, their agencies and some other public bodies in the UK – and the NHS in England – have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service." The first UK Ombudsman was Sir Edmund Compton who had previously been the Comptroller and Auditor General
Comptroller and Auditor General
Comptroller and auditor-general is the abbreviated title of a government official in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, the Republic of Ireland, India, and China....
. He was succeeded by Sir Alan Marre
Alan Marre
Sir Alan Samuel Marre CB KCB was a civil servant, serving most notably as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and as the first Health Service Commissioner for England, Scotland and Wales....
, a career civil servant. He was the first Ombudsman appointed for the National Health Service and combined that role with that of the Parliamentary Ombudsman as have all his successors. He later became chairman of Age Concern
Age 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....
and the post is currently held by Ann Abraham
Ann Abraham
Ann Abraham is the current Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England . She was appointed in 2002....
(since 2002). She is a former director of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux.
Process
Those seeking the assistance of the PCA generally find the process to be difficult. Firstly, all complaints have to go through a Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP); this is known as the 'MP filter', which checks the legitimacy of complaints. In many cases, an MP attempts to solve the problem themselves, though the effectiveness of this can be called into question. Secondly, the Ombudsman rejects many complaints at first instance. In 2009-10, 11,066 enquiries were received, but only 356 were accepted for investigation. Finally, the ombudsman will not investigate complaints where recourse to an alternate remedy (tribunal, internal complaints etc.) exists. This can be extremely offputting for complainants, most of whom do not want to get involved in this process. If a complainant can plough through all this, complaint resolution normally takes about 40 weeks.
Putting a complaint to the HSC
HSC
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is simpler in that no MP filter is operated. However, it is generally expected that complaints have been first put to the NHS body complained about. The HSC
HSC
-Computing:* Hitachi Storage Cluster* HSC50 , a mass storage controller from Digital Equipment Corporation implementing their Mass Storage Control Protocol* Hughes Systique Corporation-Medicine:...
since April 2009 is the final stage of the complaints process.
Powers
The Ombudsman's reports are not binding upon any authority but the Ombudsman has substantial powers to require the production of evidence relevant to the investigation. The evidence gathering powers are backed up by sanctions that can be enforced in the High Court. He or she may publish a report, but that is all the coercion he can assert in respect of findings in reports, relying instead upon credibility. Usually, this does exert sufficient moralMoral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
influence to make an authority change its decision. The Ombudsman does not exist to complain about the merits of a decision. For example, in 1996 those suffering 'planning blight' on their houses due to the creation of the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
were eventually awarded compensation without admission of fault
Fault (legal)
Fault, as a legal term, refers to legal blameworthiness and responsibility in each area of law. It refers to both the actus reus and the mental state of the defendant. The basic principle is that a defendant should be able to contemplate the harm that his actions may cause, and therefore should...
or liability
Legal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
.
Finally, the Ombudsman's decision may be challenged by judicial review under normal public law grounds. This happens rarely, but does occur. For example, in R v PCA, Ex Parte Dyer [1994], a complaint was investigated and a report issued. The complainant to the Ombudsman was not satisfied with the report or the process leading to it and challenged the Ombudsman's actions. The Ombudsman viewed the matter as concluded. The complainant commenced a judicial review action. The judge confirmed that the Ombudsman was amenable to judicial review but the court would not readily interfere with the Ombudsman's exercise of his discretion as the intended width of his powers was clear from the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967. The Rules of Natural Justice did not require that the applicant should see his report before he had sent a copy to the Department complained of. The discretion conferred on him by the Act did not include the power to reopen an investigation. The Ombudsman's processes have changed under the tenure of Ann Abraham and reports are to be shared with both the complainant and the public body prior to the conclusion of the matter.