About us
The Role
The primary role of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales is to investigate complaints made to him by members of the public about the way they have been treated by a public body. Complaints will be investigated independently and impartially, and when upheld, the Ombudsman will say what the public body should do to make amends to the complainant and impress the need for improvement in its standard of service in the future. Lessons learned from investigations will be publicised. He will also promote good administration and high standards of conduct by investigating allegations that local authority members have breached their own authority’s code of conduct.
Service Priorities
1. Service to the individual member of the public
The Ombudsman expects public bodies to treat people fairly, considerately and efficiently. When people consider that they have been badly treated, the ombudsman service must provide an easily accessible means by which they can be heard. Their complaints must be looked into independently and impartially, and if upheld, fair redress must be given.
2. Outreach
The Ombudsman will seek to make the service accessible to all who need it, including vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society, such as the black and minority ethnic community.
3. Informal resolution
Where it is helpful, informal resolution and speedy redress will be sought for any complainant, so long as it does not compromise the wider public interest.
4. Impartial and efficient investigation
When a formal investigation is appropriate, it will be carried out by the Ombudsman’s officers in an impartial and thorough manner, although he will be concerned to bring matters to a conclusion as soon as possible. In order to achieve this, the service that he leads will manage its resources effectively, and be vigorous in evaluating performance against robust standards.
5. Securing proper redress
When the Ombudsman upholds a complaint, he will be vigorous in seeking redress which is fully proportionate to the harm suffered by the complainant.
6. Alertness to wider implications
When they are investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman’s officers will remain alert to the possibility that it may not be an isolated case and that other individuals may have suffered in a similar way. If so, the Ombudsman will be proactive in seeking similar redress for those people.
7. Promoting good administration
Where he has the power to do so, and in order to secure better service for the individual citizen, the Ombudsman will give guidance on good administrative practice to bodies within his jurisdiction. This will be done sparingly and only after consultation with the bodies concerned, drawing not only on experience in Wales, but also from other ombudsman schemes.
The Ombudsman will ensure that allegations of breach of the code of conduct for local authority members are investigated rigorously but proportionately.
