Meeting documents
Standards Committee (DCC)
Tuesday 20 November 2007
Meeting: Standards Committee (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 1A - 20/11/2007 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A5 The Regulatory Reform Order 2007
| Standards Committee 20 November 2007 |  |
| Report of Lesley Davies, Acting Director of Corporate Services and Monitoring Officer | |
1. To advise Members about the enactment of The Regulatory Reform (Collaboration etc. Between Ombudsman) Order 2007.
Background
2. This Order came into effect on 1 August 2007 and amends the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967, the Local Government Act 1974 and the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993. In broad terms it enables the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsmen for England and the Health Service Ombudsman for England to work together collaboratively on cases and issues that are relevant to more than one of their individual jurisdictions.
3. This marks a major step forward and will bring significant changes to the way some complaints are handled.
4. The Order gives the Ombudsmen specific powers to help them work
collaboratively on complaints:
• To share information ‘for the purposes of a complaint’;
• To conduct joint investigations, subject to the consent of the
complainant;
• To authorise each other’s staff to work on joint investigations;
• To issue joint reports.
• To conduct joint investigations, subject to the consent of the
complainant;
• To authorise each other’s staff to work on joint investigations;
• To issue joint reports.
5. The Order also grants some new powers:
• For the Ombudsmen to appoint and pay a mediator or other
appropriate person to assist in the conduct of an investigation;
• For the Local Government Ombudsmen to investigate a complaint
that has not previously been notified to the local authority concerned.
appropriate person to assist in the conduct of an investigation;
• For the Local Government Ombudsmen to investigate a complaint
that has not previously been notified to the local authority concerned.
6. The vast majority of complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsmen and the Health Service Ombudsman will continue to be relevant to the jurisdiction of a single Ombudsman. There are a number of areas where complaints may be relevant to more than one Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. Examples include complaints about the provision of health and social care; complaints about the administration of housing and welfare benefits; complaints about planning and environmental issues.
7. The Ombudsmen cannot conduct a joint investigation without the consent of the complainant. If complainants are clear from the outset that they would like the Ombudsmen to conduct a joint investigation they can make their complaint to any of the relevant Ombudsman and say that they would like their complaint to be investigated jointly.
8. If a complaint has been made to a single Ombudsman and that Ombudsman considers that a joint investigation would be appropriate, the Ombudsman will contact the complainant to advise them and to seek their consent. The Ombudsmen will contact bodies (or individuals) in jurisdiction if a joint investigation is proposed and advise them how the investigation will be conducted and by whom.
9. There are no changes to the ‘MP filter’ system whereby Members of
Parliament refer complaints to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. If M.P.s identify complaints which they consider to be appropriate for joint investigation, they can draw this to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s attention. If the Parliamentary Ombudsman proposes to conduct a joint investigation of a complaint referred by a Member of Parliament, she will ensure that the Member is kept informed. If the Parliamentary Ombudsman is advised by another Ombudsman that a matter is appropriate for a joint investigation, she may assist the complainant to make a complaint to their Member of Parliament.
Recommendation
10. Members are asked to note the report.
| Contact: Allison Mallabar Tel: (0191) 3835580 |