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Summaries of some of the issues previously in the news from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's Office
2005
A debt of honour: WWII internees
Redress in the round
Annual report 2004-05: a year of progress
Tax credits: putting things right
NHS complaints
Maxwell pensioners
July 2005
Some of the British people interned in appalling conditions by the Japanese during World War II suffered injustice because of decisions by the Ministry of Defence, according to a report from the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
A debt of honour: the ex gratia scheme for British groups interned by the Japanese during the Second World War discusses how the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ex-gratia compensation scheme, in the way it was devised, announced and implemented, fell short of the standards of public administration that citizens have a right to expect.
Established to fulfil a ‘debt of honour’ to those interned because they were British, the scheme criteria were changed at a late stage. One new criterion meant that approximately 1,000 British subjects who had no close ‘bloodlink’ to the UK became ineligible for compensation.
The Ombudsman made four recommendations to the MoD. The MoD agreed to apologise to complainants for the distress caused and to consider whether their regret should be expressed tangibly. However, the MoD decided not to accept the other two recommendations: in which the Ombudsman asked them to review the operation of the scheme in the light of the findings; and to consider the position of those denied payment because of the bloodlink criterion. It is rare for the Ombudsman to have to draw Parliament’s attention to injustice caused by maladministration that the Government does not propose to remedy.
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October 2005
This report clearly shows the need for reform of the legislation covering aspects of the working arrangements for public sector Ombudsmen. The current restrictions on their ability to work together mean that they cannot provide the sort of joined-up service that they should be able to give all citizens who have complaints which cross more than one Ombudsman jurisdiction.
In this case the complaint involved the actions of the Department for Transport and Norfolk County Council. The Parliamentary Ombudsman investigated the actions of the Department and the Local Government Ombudsman investigated the County Council. The legislation which covers the Ombudsmen’s remits requires each to publish a separate report. Although both reports are complete in themselves, it is only when they are read together that the full story can be understood. For this reason each report has the other annexed to it.
Working in close collaboration the two Ombudsmen found maladministration both at the Council and the Department. They concluded that each must carry an equal share of the responsibility for the hardship caused to the complainants and recommended that each body should pay them £100,000.
The Cabinet Office are currently consulting on proposals to reform aspects of public sector Ombudsmen services. If these are implemented it would enable the Ombudsmen to work together even more effectively and produce a joint report where appropriate.
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This year for the first time we have produced one Annual Report covering both our Parliamentary and Health Service work. Public services have a major impact on people’s lives and, when things go wrong, the consequences can be serious. We know that the investigation of complaints enables public bodies to learn from their mistakes and improve the services they deliver.
Our report covers the main issues we focused on during the past year. They include problems with the new tax credits system and the operations of the Child Support Agency, NHS funding of continuing care for people with long-term healthcare needs and the need for a truly patient-focused NHS complaints procedure.
The report contains facts and figures about our work and case studies illustrating the problems with public services faced by our complainants.
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Our new approach to tax credits complaints - April 2006
Treasury response - letter dated 29 July 2005
Over 6 million families in the UK claim tax credits but problems with the delivery of this benefit mean that a sizeable number are suffering considerable inconvenience, worry, distress and hardship. Currently over 23% of all complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (312 complaints over the past two years) are about tax credits. Tax Credits: Putting things right - a special report from the Ombudsman published on 22 June 2005 - outlines what has gone wrong, the impact on customers and the lessons to be learned.The Ombudsman makes 12 recommendations to improve the system. These include asking HM Revenue and Customs to:
• Reconsider the way it delivers tax credits in order to deliver a better service to its customers and to devise a different model in complex cases and where something has gone wrong.
Consider writing off all excess and overpayments caused by official error in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
• Consider adopting a statutory test for recovery of excess and overpayments of tax credits, consistent with that currently used for social security benefits, with a right of appeal to an independent tribunal.
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For more information on this issue, see the Adjudicator’s Office 2005 Annual Report, and the Citizens' Advice special report Money with your name on it, available on the Citizens' Advice website.
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The Office’s monitoring of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information over the past 11 years is the subject of a special report published on 26 May - Monitoring of the Non-statutory Codes of Practice 1994-2005, HC 59. (From January 2005 the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came fully into force superseding the non-statutory Code.)Published at the same time is a two-part volume of the last investigations into complaints that government information had been wrongly withheld from those who had asked for it Access to Official Information: Investigations Completed July 2004 to March 2005,
part one: HC 63-I and part two: HC63-II Monitoring of the Non-statutory Codes of Practice 1994-2005 sets out the history of the Ombudsman’s involvement in monitoring the Code of Practice after the Office was asked to take on this task in 1994. It also examines some of the landmark cases and considers the impact of the Ombudsman’s work on freedom of information generally. Through decisions taken by the Office much of the groundwork has been done to create a more receptive climate for the Freedom of Information regime than was the case when work started on openness 11 years ago. The special report highlights some of the major cases the Office has dealt with and attempts to draw some key lessons about freedom of information and how it should be operated.
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A complaint that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the former Department of Social Security (DSS) acted unreasonably in the way they dealt with the Maxwell Communications Pensions Plan has not been upheld by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman’s report - Maxwell Communications Pension Plan complaint – published on 23 March 2005 gives a full account of the Office’s investigation and conclusions.
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Problems faced by patients in getting a satisfactory response to their complaints - and the failure of the NHS to use lessons from complaints to improve services - were highlighted in the Health Service Ombudsman's report Making things better? A report on reform of the NHS complaints procedure in England, published on 12 March 2005.A summary of the story with comments from Health Minister Rosie Winterton and Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is available on the BBC website.
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