MPs call for legislative reform of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has issued a “renewed call” for legislative reform to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's (PHSO's) structure and operations.

The cross-party committee’s report, published yesterday (4 March), expressed concern that the PHSO had failed to meet its targets for the proportion of cases subject to further investigation it would resolve within 13, 26 and 52 weeks.

The committee requested for the Ombudsman to “provide details of the methodology it uses for deciding its targets for how quickly it should resolve cases subject to further consideration, and outline any steps it will take to review that methodology to arrive at more realistic targets to be used in the future.”

The PACAC acknowledged the work the PHSO has done to attempt to clear the backlog of cases created by Covid-19, and welcomed the fact that the Ombudsman has met its 7-day target for making initial decisions on cases.

However, the PACAC said it received concerns from others, such as examples of PHSO services “not fully responding to the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly”, cases taking a long-time to resolve and poor communications.

In its report, the committee reiterated its concerns around PHSO’s continuation of its temporary measure introduced to address the Covid backlog, of determining some cases as below the ‘severity of injustice’, meaning that these cases are not subject to detailed investigation.

The committee recommended that the PHSO should “set out publicly the criteria it will use during the review to determine its future approach”.

The PACAC reiterated its support for legislative reforms. It noted: “Previous proposals have included consolidating ombudsmen schemes into a single Public Service Ombudsman and changes to the powers of Ombudsman. The Government has rejected reform of the Ombudsmen structure, arguing that the issue is not an urgent issue. We disagree, thinking that legislative reform has been neglected for too long and further delay is no longer tenable.”

The report called for the Government to “reconsider its position” and set out its plans ahead of the general election.

Scrutinising the PHSO’s staff management and training, the committee welcomed the increase in the number of PHSO staff, including caseworkers, and the amount of training provided. However, the report recommended that the PHSO assess whether there are further steps it can take to reduce staff turnover.

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Chair, William Wragg MP, said: “While we do make some positive commendations of the PHSO, such as the increased numbers of cases resolved by mediation, improved staffing levels and further progress on reducing the Covid backlog, our report makes clear that there remains work to be done by the organisation to address criticisms of its handling of casework and to evaluate and address staff turnover issues.

“As we have done annually for many years now to no avail, we are once again calling on the Government to bring forward what is now very long-overdue legislative reform of the PHSO, so that it can provide the level of service the public requires from it.

“Given the necessity of PHSO reform, we urge all political parties to include a commitment to reforming the legislation relating to the PHSO in their election manifestos ahead of the next General Election.”

A Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the Committee recognised the increase in complaints that have been resolved by mediation and called for Government to support our efforts in this. We also appreciate their commendation of our work to spread best practice in resolving cases by mediation among other organisations both in the UK and internationally.

“[…] We are pleased to see the Committee’s support for reform of our outdated legislative framework and their call for Government to reconsider its position and consult with stakeholders ahead of the General Election. We agree with their sentiment that reform has been ‘neglected’, is ‘long overdue’, and that ‘further delay is no longer tenable’. We support their call that all political parties should include commitment in their manifestos to enact this legislative reform."

The spokesperson added: “The Committee highlighted areas for monitoring and improvement. We welcome this feedback as part of our commitment to continually improving our complaint handling. We will reflect on this learning and take appropriate action to make sure we deliver excellent service that is accessible to all while providing value for money. We will provide a full response to the Committee’s report in due course.”

Lottie Winson