Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019-20
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Closed
Inquiry
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) is launching its annual scrutiny session into the work of the PHSO in the financial year 2019/20. According to the House of Commons Standing Order 146 , PACAC's role in relation to the PHSO is: to examine the reports of the Parliamentary …
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2
Recommendations
12
Conclusions
1
Report
1
Oral session
11
Letters
1
Event
Activity timeline 15 events
7 Sep
2021
2021
7 Sep
2021
2021
10 Jun
2021
2021
8 Jun
2021
2021
20 Apr
2021
2021
2 Feb
2021
2021
27 Jan
2021
2021
26 Jan
2021
2021
25 Jan
2021
2021
16 Dec
2020
2020
23 Nov
2020
2020
23 Nov
2020
2020
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
23 Nov 2020
View on parliament.uk
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019-20
Amanda Amroliwala CBE · Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Rob Behrens CBE · Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seventh report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scru… | HC 843 | 25 Jan 2021 | 14 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
14 results
1
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The information provided in the PHSO’s annual report on the outcome of enquiries and complaints...
The information provided in the PHSO’s annual report on the outcome of enquiries and complaints should be made more transparent. The grouping of cases that “are not ready to be taken forward” and “should not be taken forward” should be …
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Government Response
The Committee has a crucial role in holding PHSO’s independent service to account. As an Officer of the House, the Ombudsman is fully committed to being open and transparent about …
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2
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
In May 2020, the PHSO reported to the Committee that it had experienced an increase...
In May 2020, the PHSO reported to the Committee that it had experienced an increase of 13 per cent in demand compared to the previous financial year. Due to the introduction of a new digital casework management system, comparisons between …
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Government Response
PHSO is open and transparent about the performance of the service we provide. The information we provided to the Committee in May 2020 was and is correct. Accordingly, the Ombudsman …
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3
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The Committee welcomes the PHSO’s efforts to set stretching target section scores for its Service...
The Committee welcomes the PHSO’s efforts to set stretching target section scores for its Service Charter commitments, but continues to regard the relatively low scores against commitments 8, 11 and 13 as continuing priority areas for improvement and requests an …
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Government Response
The Service Charter provides a valuable source of feedback about people’s experience of PHSO’s service. PHSO is the only public service Ombudsman to regularly carry out and publish a survey …
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4
Recommendation
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The Committee appreciates that there is a risk that complainants could be overwhelmed with information...
The Committee appreciates that there is a risk that complainants could be overwhelmed with information if all the evidence the PHSO has collected is shared with them, but it remains the case that complainants need to be assured that all …
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5
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The PHSO should report in its annual report and accounts the number of new enquiries...
The PHSO should report in its annual report and accounts the number of new enquiries and complaints that have been received in that financial year. This number is separate from the number of enquiries and complaints that the PHSO has …
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Government Response
The Committee has a crucial role in holding PHSO’s independent service to account. As an Officer of the House, the Ombudsman is fully committed to being open and transparent about …
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6
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The PHSO should provide a breakdown of how long health cases that are over one...
The PHSO should provide a breakdown of how long health cases that are over one year old have been open for. This information should also be produced next to the general information the PHSO provides on the amount of time …
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Government Response
The Committee has a crucial role in holding PHSO’s independent service to account. As an Officer of the House, the Ombudsman is fully committed to being open and transparent about …
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7
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The PHSO should report regularly in its annual report the number of cases in the...
The PHSO should report regularly in its annual report the number of cases in the queue for allocation to a caseworker and the average amount of time it took for cases to be allocated to a caseworker. This will be …
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Government Response
The Committee has a crucial role in holding PHSO’s independent service to account. As an Officer of the House, the Ombudsman is fully committed to being open and transparent about …
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8
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
It is necessary for complaints to the PHSO to be time-limited, as there needs to...
It is necessary for complaints to the PHSO to be time-limited, as there needs to be some level of certainty about when matters that could potentially be complained about can no longer be taken forward. However, the Committee’s view is …
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Government Response
The Health Service Commissioner Act and Parliamentary Commissioner Act both set a legal time limit of 12 months from the date an individual became aware of a failing for the …
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9
Recommendation
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The Committee recommends that the PHSO should publish a target for responding to correspondence, and...
The Committee recommends that the PHSO should publish a target for responding to correspondence, and should track its performance against that standard and report to the Committee each year. (Paragraph 31) Value for Money
10
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The Committee believes that regular peer review studies will be an important source of assurance...
The Committee believes that regular peer review studies will be an important source of assurance of the effectiveness of the PHSO’s processes and in turn, its value for money. The Committee recommends that peer review should include specific assurance on …
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Government Response
We welcome the Committee’s recognition of the benefits of the independent peer review of PHSO’s value for money in 2018 and the plans to commission another peer review during the …
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11
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
While peer review does require some degree of understanding of ombudsman services, fresh independent perspectives...
While peer review does require some degree of understanding of ombudsman services, fresh independent perspectives are valuable to avoid groupthink setting in. The Committee recommends that the next peer review should include in its panel an independent member, such as …
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Government Response
We welcome the Committee’s recognition of the benefits of the independent peer review of PHSO’s value for money in 2018 and the plans to commission another peer review during the …
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12
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The Committee recommends that the value for money study should adopt the following broad structure...
The Committee recommends that the value for money study should adopt the following broad structure in its report: For each area examined, the report should first set out what is expects to see of a modern ombudsman organisation, it should …
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Government Response
We welcome the Committee’s recognition of the benefits of the independent peer review of PHSO’s value for money in 2018 and the plans to commission another peer review during the …
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13
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
The Committee reiterates its conclusion that legislative reform of the PHSO is required.
The Committee reiterates its conclusion that legislative reform of the PHSO is required. The PHSO’s legislation is out of date compared to modern Ombudsman standards. While the Committee appreciates the pressing priorities facing the Government, including covid-19, reform of the …
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Government Response
The Government appreciates the desire of PACAC to modernise Ombudsman standards and agrees that this is an important matter. As outlined by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in …
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14
Conclusion
Seventh report - Parliamentary and…
Routinely publishing the PHSO’s casework online, including levels of compliance with the PHSO’s recommendations will...
Routinely publishing the PHSO’s casework online, including levels of compliance with the PHSO’s recommendations will help to demonstrate the impact of the PHSO on other organisations. For recommendations that are of a more long-term nature, such as forming and implementing …
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Government Response
As set out in PHSO’s 2018–21 strategy, we are committed to publishing casework decisions online and we have been developing the systems, processes and technology that will make this possible. …
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Correspondence 11 letters
7 Sep 2021
From committee
Letter to Rob Behrens CBE, Chair and Ombudsman, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on extension of term as Chair and Ombudsman of the PHSO, dated 22.7.21
Parliament page
7 Sep 2021
To committee
Letter from Rob Behrens CBE, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the Venice Commission, dated 31.8.21
Parliament page
10 Jun 2021
Rob Behrens CBE, Ombudsman and Chair, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on an investigation into handling of Windrush man’s status, dated 8.6.21
Parliament page
8 Jun 2021
From committee
Letter to Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster on the Commissioner to the PHSO, dated 8.6.21
Parliament page
2 Feb 2021
To committee
Letter from Rob Behrens CBE, Ombudsman and Chair, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on PHSO Annual Scrutiny 2019-20, dated 28.1.21
Parliament page
27 Jan 2021
From committee
Letter to Rob Behrens CBE, Ombudsman and Chair, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on PHSO Annual Scrutiny 2019-20, dated 26.1.21
Parliament page
26 Jan 2021
To committee
Letter from Rob Behrens CBE, Ombudsman and Chair, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on PHSO Annual Scrutiny 2019-20, dated 25.1.21
Parliament page
16 Dec 2020
To committee
Letter from Rob Behrens CBE, Ombudsman and Chair, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on follow-up evidence after 23.11 oral evidence session, dated 8.12.20
Parliament page
17 Nov 2020
To committee
Letter from PHSO The Facts, dated 10.11.20
Parliament page
13 Oct 2020
To committee
Letter to and response from Rob Behrens, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on PHSO scrutiny 2019-20, dated 12.10.20
Parliament page
29 Sep 2020
From committee
Letter to the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer on PHSO Funding and the Comprehensive Spending Review 2020, dated 22.9.20
Parliament page