LGO makes headway in cutting delayed cases

The Local Government Ombudsman has cut by more than half the number of cases on its books that are over 52 weeks old, it has emerged.

The improvement – forty cases are now more than a year old, compared to 107 in May – was revealed in the LGO’s official response to a report from the Communities and Local Government select committee published in July.

The MPs called on the Ombudsman to “raise its game significantly”, including by applying strict deadlines to all the cases that it handles.

The CLG committee report warned that it was taking the LGO “far too long” to determine some cases, adding that this posed a threat to its authority and credibility.

In its response the LGO said that from September it was monitoring all cases over 40 weeks old on a monthly basis. “We are committed to completing all investigations within 52 weeks except in exceptional circumstances,” it said, adding that it would be reviewing its timescales.

The Ombudsman said it noted and would consider as part of its review the CLG committee’s recommendation that all complaints should be determined within three months. Currently 45% of cases meet this timescale.

The LGO’s response said it would be piloting arrangements for its new Intake, Assessment and Investigation units from this month, with the results to be reviewed in January 2013.

The units – which are designed to ensure the Ombudsman takes more decisions “at the earliest possible stage in the complaints process, at the lowest cost, selecting cases for investigation as quickly as possible” – will come into operation next April.

The Ombudsman added that it would be publishing all its decisions on its website from April 2013 in a drive for improved transparency.

Other actions that the LGO will take include:

• Conducting an independent staff survey;
• Commissioning independent expertise to develop and publish a methodology to measure complainant satisfaction;
• Establishing a stakeholder advisory group;
• An internal review of all public information;
• An internal review of evidence handling; and
• An independent evaluation of the LGO, including peer review by a UK public sector ombudsman, including a review of complaint processing timescales.

The LGO suggested in the response that its restructured business model would provide greater clarity about the case handling process.

The Ombudsman insisted that by April 2015, the LGO Scheme “will have introduced a new business model which handles complaints faster, delivers effective and proportionate dispute resolution, achieves high levels of customer satisfaction and delivers value for money”.

The restructured organisation would be fit for purpose, resilient and well managed, it insisted.

LGO Chair, Dr Jane Martin, said: “It is essential that the LGO provides the best possible service to citizens and is relevant and resilient in a dynamic local government landscape. Our transformation plan is bold and ambitious and we want to be held properly accountable for implementing our plans.”

The Ombudsman’s full response to the CLG committee report can be found here.

Philip Hoult