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Investigations

20
Dec
2019

2019: Year in Review

As 2019 draws to a close, it offers the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year that has passed; the challenges and opportunities we’ve encountered, what we’ve achieved, and where we are heading.

19
Jun
2019

What the Ombudsman can and can’t do: a quick guide

Have you ever wondered why the Ombudsman does some things but not others? Why she only deals with Service complaints and not all complaints? Read for more information

16
Jan
2019

Reasonable adjustment: Making it easier for you to access our Services

If you want to know what reasonable adjustment means and how the Office of the Service Complaints Ombudsman can change the way we do things to help you, then read on……..

Reasonable Adjustment - One Size Does Not Fit All

31
Jul
2018

Just and equitable – what does it actually mean?

There are time limits for making a Service complaint and also for making an application to my office. These time limits are set in law. Complaints that are made outside of those time limits can still be accepted if it considered “just and equitable”. But what does that actually mean?

30
Apr
2018

How many staff does it take to investigate complaints?

No, it isn’t the start of a good joke! The question of whether an organisation has enough staff to deliver their core objectives is one that is common to most sectors, including the ombudsman community. As many of you will have seen from our recent communications, including the Annual Report, we don’t currently have enough staff to meet our published time targets. While this is an issue we are working to rectify as quickly as we can, I thought I would use my second blog this month to explore this issue further.

11
Aug
2017

Recommendations

The role of an Ombudsman is not only to carry out investigations but to make recommendations. In addition to the recommendations I make each year in my Annual Report, I have the power to make recommendations in individual cases as part of my findings. In this blog I will be explaining more about this particular […]

27
Feb
2017

Judicial Review

We talk a lot about how the decisions I make as the Service Complaints Ombudsman are binding and can only be challenged by Judicial Review, but what does that mean? In this blog I will be looking at why the legislation requires my decisions to be binding and what Judicial Review is all about. When […]

05
Jan
2017

January 2017 – The year ahead

This week marks the second year of the Office of the Service Complaints Ombudsman and our 1st birthday! I thought it only fitting to use my first blog of the year to at the year ahead and what I hope to achieve in 2017. Our office reopened Tuesday after the Christmas break and we are already […]

21
Dec
2016

December 2016 – Look back at 2016

As we approach the Christmas season we also come to the end of the first year of my term and also the very first year of the Office of the Service Complaints Ombudsman. Although our official year-end statistics won’t be released until the New Year, I thought it only appropriate to use my final blog […]

07
Dec
2016

What makes a good decision letter?

One of my powers as the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces is to review decisions made by the chain of command to not accept a complaint for investigation. In the first 9 months my office has upheld 53% of reviews of this type in favour of the complainant. In some instances it isn’t […]