An Assistant Ombudsman has been given an outstanding contribution award for his work on embedding Human Rights and Equalities into the way the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) investigates.

Evan Lerwill has been awarded this year’s Ombudsman Association award for the way he has spearheaded LGSCO’s efforts to bring Human Rights and Equalities considerations to the heart of LGSCO investigations: promoting and protecting people’s rights and ensuring lessons from casework have the widest possible impact.

Evan’s efforts have opened the door for other Ombudsmen schemes to adopt a similar approach. He represented LGSCO at the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, alongside the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, representing a unified approach from the public Ombudsman sector and human rights regulator in England. 

He has also lead the drafting of the Ombudsman's recent focus reports on both Human Rights and Equalities and Accessibility issues.

Evan said:

“We have witnessed an erosion of human rights in our society over recent years, with public services that protect basic everyday rights often stretched to threads. We regularly see this in our casework, through the systemic collapse of support for children with special educational needs; the heightened barriers of entry to adult care services; and the chronic shortage of suitable housing for vulnerable families.

"It is entirely correct and proportionate that we frame these issues around the language of human rights. This helps promote better public understanding about the rights and protections we should all expect, and strengthens our voice when we share these difficult stories with policy makers and make recommendations for positive change.

“I am delighted the Ombudsman Association has recognised the progress we have made in this area.”

Each year the Ombudsman Association (OA) recognises and celebrates an outstanding contribution to the Ombudsman sector. Nominations are invited from OA members and the winner is chosen by a three-person panel which includes the current OA chair.

Article date: 23 June 2023