The Information Promise
Governance Statement for The Information Promise
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Our role is to consider complaints that government departments, a range of other public bodies in the UK, and the NHS in England, have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service.
We hold a vast array of information in connection with the Ombudsman’s statutory functions. Some of that information is personal, sensitive and confidential. We are committed to safeguarding the information we hold and treating it seriously.
At the same time, we seek to share the learning from our complaints with individuals and organisations who are likely to benefit from having access to that information and with the general public.
The challenge for us is to balance the need to protect the personal and other information given in confidence with the benefit of sharing information more widely.
We have developed the Information Promise in consultation with our customers, stakeholders and staff to help us meet this challenge.
Our Information Promise is that we will:
- value the information entrusted to us and make sure we respect that trust;
- handle the information entrusted to us lawfully, appropriately and in accordance with our values and the Ombudsman’s Principles;
- let individuals and organisations know how we will use the information they give us;
- be clear and open about our approach to the sharing and publishing of the information we hold;
- have effective systems and processes in place to protect the confidentiality, integrity and security of the information we hold;
- ensure that our staff understand their responsibilities and handle information properly; and
- check that we are living up to our promise and report on how we are doing.
