Our vision and values

Our vision is a voice for improvement in public services through the provision of an independent, impartial and fair complaints handling service, as an internationally respected public services ombudsman.

Our values

Our values have been developed in close consultation with our staff and all those who use our service so we all have a shared understanding about the type of ombudsman service we want to be.

Our values shape our behaviour, both as an organisation and as individuals, and incorporate the Ombudsman's Principles. These are:

Independence, Fairness, Excellence, Transparency

Independence

From organisations we investigate, holding them to account for service failure.

Fairness

Listening carefully to complainants and the organisations we investigate and making impartial and fair decisions based on relevant evidence.

Excellence

Learning from engagement with complainants and organisations investigated to improve accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as the quality of our decisions.

Transparency

Communicating with those who use our service and publishing information about our findings, how we are performing, and how organisations we investigate have implemented our recommendations.