Overly-bureaucratic complaint handling leaves people confused and exhausted, and wastes public money, says Parliamentary Ombudsman
In her first annual assessment of how well complaints about public services are being dealt with, Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, has labelled government complaint handling as ‘inconsistent, haphazard and unaccountable’. She warns that the lack of a shared view across government about how complaints should be managed has led to a plethora of different, and often multilayered, systems, causing frustration and confusion for members of the public and cost to the public purse.
Published today (25 October 2011), Responsive and Accountable? The Ombudsman’s review of complaint handling by government departments and public bodies 2010-11, includes the findings of a survey by the Ombudsman’s Office into how government departments and public bodies handle complaints. The research uncovered varying systems, with members of the public being required to navigate anything between one and four stages of a local complaints procedure before they could bring their complaint to the Ombudsman to look into.
The Ombudsman’s report reveals that public bodies spent over
£360,000 remedying complaints following the Ombudsman’s involvement in 2010-11. On top of this, there is the cost in time and resource. Commenting on this, Ann Abraham said:
‘Lengthy and protracted complaints systems take up time and resource for the body concerned, and there is also the cost to the individual who wants to be able to put matters behind them and move on with their life, and who is left frustrated and exhausted by the complaints system.’
Ann Abraham continued:
‘It is also clear that government needs to have in place better and more extensive mechanisms for sharing learning from complaints, so that the same mistakes aren’t repeated again and again. Government needs to examine how ingrained in the civil service psyche is a closed, reactive, defensive response to complaints; and how that can be changed into an open, proactive response that encourages real and sustained learning.’
The Ombudsman’s report also highlights that HM Revenue & Customs, Jobcentre Plus, the UK Border Agency, and the Child Support Agency generated more of the 7,360 complaints made to the Ombudsman in 2010-11 than any other public bodies. The most complained about issue during the year was tax credits.
The stories of some of those who brought their complaint to the Ombudsman when they were unhappy with the outcome of local resolution are also featured in the report. One man suffered the humiliation of being escorted from his workplace by security guards after the UK Border Agency mishandled and delayed his application for a residence card. In another case, the identity of a woman who had assisted Jobcentre Plus with a fraud investigation was accidentally disclosed to the person being investigated, which led to her being threatened and her children bullied at school.
…Ends
Notes to Editors:
- The Parliamentary Ombudsman’s role is to consider complaints that government departments, and a range of other public bodies in the UK, have not acted properly or fairly, or have provided a poor service. We are a free service, open to everyone.
- Ann Abraham currently holds the post of Parliamentary Ombudsman and is also Health Service Ombudsman. She is appointed by the Crown and is completely independent of government and the NHS.
- The fullreport, Responsive and Accountable? The Ombudsman’s review of complaint handling by government departments and public bodies 2010-11, is available here.
- For media enquiries or to request an interview, please contact the Press Office on 0300 061 4996/3924 or email press@ombudsman.org.uk.
- Follow the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on Twitter (@PHSOmbudsman), Facebook and LinkedIn.
