Others we work with

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

We work together with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) when this will provide a more effective service on complaints. Amendments to primary legislation in 2007 allow us to share information on individual cases and issue joint decisions.

We now have a joint working team to handle investigations containing elements of both ombudsmen's jurisdictions - typically health and social care issues.

Both organisations work together to support Government and Parliament in their aim to create to a single public services ombudsman for England.

Housing Ombudsman Service

The Localism Act 2011 extended the powers of the Housing Ombudsman to deal with complaints about the role of local authorities as landlords of social housing. This includes landlord services provided directly by local authorities, or those provided on behalf of local authorities by, for example, Arms Length Management Organisations and Tenant Management Organisations.

From April 2013, all new complaints about such matters became the responsibility of the Housing Ombudsman. However, the legislation recognises that some complaints will fall within the jurisdiction of both Ombudsmen. We have powers to conduct investigations jointly with the Housing Ombudsman.

We work together under a memorandum of understanding, to agree a common approach to the definition of jurisdictional boundaries, early handling and signposting of complaints and other forms of joint working.

Government Departments including the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is our governmental sponsoring and main funding department. The autonomy and accountability framework in which we operate is set out in the Framework Document (see downloads). We share information about the organisations we oversee with government departments to support information gathering and the provision of high quality public services.

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The CQC is the independent health and social care regulator in England. It monitors, inspects and regulates health and care services to ensure they meet standards of quality and safety. We investigate individual complaints about social care.

Both organisations share information and work together to promote high quality services for all people who use adult social care services. This is particularly the case where we detect service failures by a care provider that may affect its registration status with the CQC. Our information sharing agreement and memorandum of understanding set out how we do this.

As members of the Health and Social Care Regulatory Forum, we also support the Emerging Concerns Protocol

Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)

We have an information protocol (see downloads) with Ofsted which sets out the framework for the working relationship between the two organisations. It is intended to inform our staff and the public about how our organisations relate to each other and work together.

Office for Environmental Protection (OEP)

We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the OEP, the public body formed to protect and improve the environment by holding government and other public authorities to account.

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the EHRC, the statutory and regulatory body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act 2010 and for promoting awareness, understanding and protection of human rights.  

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