Joining up the ombudsman - the review of the public sector ombudsman in England

The Cabinet Office Review proposal for an integrated service of public sector ombudsmen in England is a welcome development in rationalising the present system. That the various ombudsmen schemes may need “joining up” in the future was recognised some 25 years ago by Sir Alan Marre, the Parliamentary Ombudsman at the time. He considered that, in the long term, consideration would need to be given to how a more co-ordinated total system, more directly related to the interests of the public, could be brought about.2 This idea was examined in 1988 by JUSTICE,3 in a report which explored whether there should be an integrated service, under which all the ombudsmen would operate under the same legislation. Their decision however was against recommending the creation of a single scheme. More recently, the Select Committee on Public Administration considered that there was a need for greater coherence to the structure of the public sector complaints system. It recommended a review of the system, with a view to bringing the complaints authorities together

Time for change for the ombudsmen in Wales

Discusses the proposals to integrate the Welsh public sector ombudsman system put forward in the consultation paper, Ombudsmen's Service in Wales: Time for Change? Outlines the background to the plans and describes the present practice operating in Wales, whereby four ombudsman systems operate to deal with different public services complaints. Examines how the integrated system will function and explains how the post of Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has been created as an interim measure until primary legislation to integrate the system has been adopted. Looks at how the ombudsman will appoint new staff and the method by which the office will be funded. Considers jurisdiction and remit, which are not part of the consultation process, and speculates on the advice and accountability mechanisms which may be put in place

Policing the police in the United Kingdom

In the three jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, the specialized mechanisms for dealing with complaints against the police do not conform to one single model, and they have varying degrees of external involvement and oversight. This article examines various models for police complaints and reviews the three systems operating in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. It concludes that the success of the system in Northern Ireland (the civilian control model) highlights the inadequacies of the other systems, and presents persuasive reasons for extending this model to other parts of the United Kingdom