This response contributed to a consultation process by the Finance Committee of the Assembly for Wales on the powers of the Pubic Services Ombudsman for Wales. The response to the consultation (May 2015) can be found here.
Some introductory comments
1.
As well as writing extensively on the Ombudsman, I was a member of an
independent evaluation panel for the Local Government Ombudsman in England in
2013 (External
Evaluation of the LGO).
2.
The administrative justice system, and indeed the civil justice system, in
Wales and the UK is an evolving network of processes and institutions. It is
also one in which less and less reliance can be placed on the courts and the
structures and processes that support them to deliver universal ‘justice’.
3.
Ombudsman schemes, and ADR more generally, have been exposed to criticism, and some
aspects of that criticism are justified. But, the potential benefits of this
model of dispute resolution are significant and, as the EU Directive on ADR emphasises,
the trend towards ADR looks set to continue.
4.
The ombudsman enterprise remains relatively young and the processes employed
are still being refined. In particular, there is still work to do to raise the
profile and robustness of ombudsman schemes.
5.
Finally, the landscape within which the ombudsman operates is changing rapidly due
to developments in information technology, the merging of the public and
private sectors and the pressures of austerity politics.
6.
With all these factors in mind, this review and set of proposals is a model of
good practice in helping to strengthen the potential of the ombudsman to both
resolve complaints and increase administrative justice.
