Joined-up Citizen Redress is essential for Consumer Democracy

Patrick Dunleavy and Jane Tinkler

February 2014

Redress provides a lens onto public sector quality and service• The Ombudsman as citizen champion: adjudicates on

individual cases where bad practice or negligence has occurred

• The Ombudsman as market checker: highlights inefficiencies of regulations that might affect many citizens or whole sectors

• The Ombudsman as change evaluator: see where old systems have struggled to keep pace with new and changing environments

• The Ombudsman as future proofer: also see where new systems and processes are not being effectively rolled out or only for some citizens

The current system is complex

A simplified typology of citizen redress in UK central government

Complaints (1st tier)

Appeals

Mediators

RegulatorsComplaints (2nd tier)

Ombudsmen

Legal cases

Services delivered by mainline departments, agencies and NDPBs,and their contractors

Redress sector Complaints/appeals dichotomy

Traditional &social media

Online feedback

Consumer bodies

2009 2014

Processed by 9,300 staff

But it is also sizeable and its scale can be hidden by lack of consistent oversight

1.4 million cases in central

government

Costing at least £510 million

annually

Comparing total expenditure and costs per case

2012/13

Expenditure (£) (000s)

Enquiries Cases Considered Cases

Cost per Case (£)

Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman 33,166 26,961 4,500 384 7,370

Local Government Ombudsman 27,545 20,186 10,307 2,834 2,672

Independent Police Complaints Commission 33,200 11,855 113 2,801

Welsh Public Sector Ombudsman 4,150 4,987 1,790 241 2,318

Scottish Public Sector Ombudsman 3,449 3,007 4,120 1,581 837

A single Public Services Ombudsman for England might be a solution• Support for a change in the ombudsman landscape has been

consistent for over a decade:– Collcutt Report (2000) proposed a single public sector Ombudsman for

England – Department for Constitutional Affairs Transforming Public Services (2004)

looked at joining up the redress landscape– National Audit Office (2005) Citizen Redress study called for greater

joined up oversight of the redress industry– Law Commission (2008) called for a wide-ranging review of the public

services ombudsmen and their relationship with other redress institutions

– The Gordon (2013) Governance Review of the LGO Service recommended that “consideration should be given to the creation of a unified public services ombudsman in the medium term”

– One aspect of the Public Administration Select Committee current inquiry on the PHSO is looking at whether reorganisation is desirable

Reasons for this are . . .

• Make it easier for citizens to know who to complain to

• Provide a focal point for citizen redress in England

• Provide an oversight to all public services in England

• Save money

Scotland and Wales have one PSO compared to England’s six

Scottish PSO PSO Wales English equivalent

Housing associations Housing associations Housing Ombudsman

Local authorities Local authorities Local Government Ombudsman

Police Police Independent Police Complaints Commission

Prisons Prisons Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

NHS NHS Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman

Regulators Regulators Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman

Schools Schools Local Government Ombudsman(admissions only)

Scottish Government Government of Wales Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman

Universities and colleges

Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education

Water and sewage services

No ombudsman oversight

Economies of scale helps reduce costs – the example of the unified Tribunal Service

Caseload Expenditure (000s) (est.)

Cost per Case

2009/10

Multiple individual tribunals 532,000 £235,000 £442

2012/13

Single Tribunal Service 874,164 £373,700 £427

How a single PSO might be structured and how it might work

National PSO

Regional PSO 1

Regional PSO 2

Regional PSO 3

• Focusing on national test cases

• Launching own investigations

• Maintaining links with local bodies

• Sharing good practice across region

Citizen-centred changes that will also be needed for a joined up PSO to work• The PSO and the citizen needs to have a more direct

relationship, which means the MP filter needs to be removed

• The Ombudsman needs to be seen as independent and trusted, and being able to launch her own inquiries would help with this

• PSO’s remit needs to be extended to be as wide as the range of public services and providers are (including public, private, third and voluntary, social enterprises etc bodies)

• The Ombudsman should develop a role as the ‘head’ of the redress sector, providing leadership to help to improve administrative decision-making

• Varying the types of investigations (like introducing an initial mediation phase) would allow flexibility and increase the number of cases that could be looked into

• Radically increasing the use of digital and social media channels for communication what and how the PSO works and the advice that can be provided

• PSO decisions should be binding as they are with private sector ombudsmen

Process changes that will also be needed for a joined up PSO to work