Information for MPs and their staff
How the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman can help Members of Parliament deal with complaints.
Have you received a complaint about benefits, immigration or tax credits? Or has someone been to your constituency surgery to complain about their experience of the NHS in England? Are you unsure how to advise your constituent?
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman may be able to help you.
How you can contact us
If you would like to discuss a particular case or would like more information about the work of the Ombudsman, please contact us.
You can call us on our dedicated MP helpline 0300 061 4953 or email us at MP@ombudsman.org.uk
You can also write to us at:
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Or fax us: 0300 061 4000
The information outlined in this section of our website is also available as a leaflet which you can download here 
(393kb).
Who we are and what we do
The role of the Ombudsman 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. Dame Julie Mellor is the current Ombudsman.
All our services are free but, by law, complaints about Government departments and other public bodies must be referred to the Ombudsman by an MP. This is known as the ‘MP filter’. Complaints about the NHS can come to us directly, without an MP referral.
The Ombudsman is independent from Government and accountable to Parliament through the Public Administration Select Committee. We can lay a report before Parliament to alert MPs to individual and/or systemic examples of maladministration. Copies of our reports can be found here. You can also find more information about the Ombudsman’s legislative framework and governance.
Because of our relationship with Parliament we can use what we have learnt from individual complaints to drive improvements in public services and inform public policy.
As Parliament’s Ombudsman we can help you where you may not be able to resolve a complaint yourself or where a constituent has asked you to refer a complaint to us. We can also assist you in holding public services to account.
