Links with other bodies
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
In 2003 Ann Abraham, the then Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and Tony Redmond, who was then Chairman of the Commission for Local Administration in England (the Local Government Ombudsmen), made proposals to the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government for legislative changes to facilitate closer working between them.
After a public consultation exercise and scrutiny by Committees in both Houses of Parliament, a Regulatory Reform Order (RRO) came into force on 1 August 2007. It amends the primary legislation that set up the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government Ombudsman services.
In broad terms the Order 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.
For more details, see our Fact sheet on the RRO (available from 'downloads' in the right hand column).
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Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The Health Act 2009 extended the powers of the Local Government Ombudsman to include complaints from or on behalf of adults who pay for or arrange their own social care. These powers took effect on 1 October 2010.
The responsibilities of the Care Quality Commission were also changed by the Act, and a new registration system for all health and social care providers came into effect from October 2010. CQC maintains a quality risk profile for each registered provider and their associated services, and ensures that each provider is meeting the Essential Standards required for the service in question.
The two organisations worked together during 2010 to agree what information should be shared and under what circumstances. CQC does not investigate individual complaints but it is interested in the outcomes, especially if they point to service failures by a provider that could affect their registration status.
The Memorandum of Understanding (see 'downloads' box in right hand column) sets out how and when the two organisations will share information and work together to develop strategies that promote high quality services for all people who use adult social care services.
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Ofsted
The Memorandum of Understanding (see 'downloads' box in right hand column) between Ofsted and the Local Government Ombudsmen sets out the functions of both organisations and describes the arrangements for cooperation and communication between them.
Some work and areas of responsibility of the Local Government Ombudsmen and Ofsted are related. This is primarily where complaints are received about schools and local authorities. Consequently a level of cooperation will be required to ensure that they can fulfil their respective roles effectively and efficiently.
In general, the Local Government Ombudsmen consider complaints from individuals about schools which have not been resolved through the local authority or school’s complaints procedure. Ofsted will not normally intervene in complaints between an individual and a school. However, if Ofsted is made aware of a serious allegation of wrong-doing or any other specific concerns, such as child protection issues, Ofsted will share the information with the appropriate agencies who can conduct the necessary investigations.
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Standards for England
Until the Local Government Act 2000 was passed, the conduct of council members (councillors) and staff was subject to the National Code of Local Government Conduct. The Local Government Ombudsman could investigate complaints about breaches of this code.
The Local Government Act 2000 introduced a new regime:
- a new model code of conduct for members;
- each council to adopt its own code (the model code as it stands, or
with additions); and
- Standards for England would consider complaints about breaches
of the code.
The model code was approved by Parliament on 27 November 2001.
The jurisdiction of the Local Government Ombudsman did not change, in that they can still investigate complaints about misconduct. So some people may, and perhaps in some cases should, make a complaint both to Standards for England and to the Ombudsman. Much depends on what the aggrieved person wants. If the desired outcome is a sanction against the offending member, the complaint must go to Standards for England. If there is a claim of personal injustice and a remedy is sought, the complaint must go to the Ombudsman (because Standards for England cannot give a remedy to the individual).
A strong working relationship is seen by Standards for England and the Ombudsman as essential. A Memorandum of Understanding to lay the foundation for such co-operation was agreed in 2001.
In May 2008 the role of Standards for England changed. It no longer receives complaints centrally nor decides whether to refer them for investigation. Instead, a locally based system is in operation whereby the Standards Committees of local authorities are responsible for in initial assessment, referral, investigation and hearing of complaints.
Standards for England will continue to investigate the minority of cases which cannot be taken on locally (for reasons such as seriousness, complexity, potential for precedent setting, conflicts of interest, or impact on the public interest). Standards for England will also continue to give general advice and support on case handling and broader governance issues.
A new Memorandum of Understanding was therefore agreed between the Ombudsmen and Standards for England to reflect these changes (see 'downloads' in the right hand column).
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Date Updated: 09/01/12