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
6 results
5
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Para 22
The PHSO should report in its annual report and accounts the number of new enquiries...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's detailed recommendations for performance data in the Annual Report, committing to simplify and streamline it for greater transparency, but does not explicitly state it will report the number of new enquiries separately from handled complaints.
6
Recommendation
Acknowledged
The PHSO should provide a breakdown of how long health cases that are over one...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's detailed recommendations for performance data in the Annual Report, committing to simplify and streamline it for greater transparency, but does not explicitly state it will provide the specific breakdown of health cases requested.
7
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Para 26
The PHSO should report regularly in its annual report the number of cases in the...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's detailed recommendations on performance data in the Annual Report, committing to simplify and streamline it for greater transparency, but does not explicitly state it will report the specific metrics requested.
9
Recommendation
Acknowledged
The Committee recommends that the PHSO should publish a target for responding to correspondence, and...
Recommendation
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
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's detailed recommendations for performance data in the Annual Report, committing to simplify and streamline it for greater transparency, but does not explicitly state it will publish a target for correspondence response or track performance against such a standard.
10
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Para 35
The Committee believes that regular peer review studies will be an important source of assurance...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government welcomes the idea of peer review and will inform the appointed peer review chair of the committee's recommendations regarding the review's scope, including casework quality. However, they emphasize the need for flexibility and the independent chair's ultimate decision-making power on the report's structure.
12
Recommendation
Acknowledged
Para 37
The Committee recommends that the value for money study should adopt the following broad structure...
Recommendation
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 Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's recommendation for a specific report structure for the value for money study and will inform the future peer review chair of these suggestions. However, it stresses the independent chair's ultimate authority over the report's final structure.