Presentation to the IPPR seminar on 'Citizen redress in a consumer democracy' 27 January 2014. With Jane Martin (Local Government Ombudsman) and Steve Reed MP.

1. Joined-up Citizen Redress is essential
for Consumer Democracy
Patrick Dunleavy
and Jane Tinkler
February 2014

2. 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

3. The current system is complex

4. A simplified typology of citizen redress in UK
central government
2009
2014
Services delivered by mainline departments, agencies and NDPBs,
and their contractors
Traditional &
social media
Mediators
Complaints
(1st tier)
Appeals
Regulators
Complaints (2nd tier)
Ombudsmen
Legal cases
Redress sector
Consumer
bodies
Complaints/appeals dichotomy
Online
feedback

5. But it is also sizeable and its scale can be
hidden by lack of consistent oversight
1.4 million cases
in central
government
Processed by
9,300 staff
Costing at least
£510 million
annually

6. Comparing total expenditure and costs per
case
2012/13
Parliamentary and Health
Services Ombudsman
Local Government
Ombudsman
Independent Police
Complaints Commission
Expenditure
(£) (000s)
Enquiries
Cases
Considered
Cases
Cost per
Case (£)
33,166
26,961
4,500
384
7,370
27,545
20,186 10,307
2,834
2,672
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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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
874,164
£373,700
£427
2012/13
Single Tribunal Service

11. How a single PSO might be structured and how
it might work
• Focusing on
national test
cases
• Launching own
investigations
National
PSO
Regional
PSO 1
Regional
PSO 2
Regional
PSO 3
• Maintaining
links with local
bodies
• Sharing good
practice across
region

12. 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)

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