Seventh report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019–20
Select Committee
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
HC 843
25 January 2021
Government response
Seventh Special Report- Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2019–20: Government’s and PHSO response to the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2019–21 · published 20 Apr 2021
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
4
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Para 20
The Committee appreciates that there is a risk that complainants could be overwhelmed with information...
Recommendation
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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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the value of sharing evidence schedules and already produces a full schedule of *material* evidence upon request. However, it deems scheduling *non-material* evidence disproportionate and does not commit to proactively sharing the schedule without a request.
8
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Para 29
It is necessary for complaints to the PHSO to be time-limited, as there needs to...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government states it collects and provides data on cases not taken forward due to time limits, noting 969 such cases in 2019-20. However, it confirms it does not collect specific data on how often or why the Ombudsman’s discretion is used, but will publish updated information on handling out-of-time cases in a new service model policy.
11
Recommendation
Accepted in Part
Para 36
While peer review does require some degree of understanding of ombudsman services, fresh independent perspectives...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government acknowledges the value of an independent auditor on the peer review panel and has developed a list of validated panel members including auditors. They will notify the future peer review chair of this recommendation for consideration, while maintaining that the chair will ultimately decide the panel's composition.