| Synopsis: |
This report deals with two issues about the Ombudsman's relationship with Parliament, which are of increasing concern to the Ombudsman and to the Committee. The requirement, known as the ’MP filter', whereby the Ombudsman may only investigate a complaint referred to her by an MP, has been controversial since its inception. The current Ombudsman and her predecessor have repeatedly expressed to us their frustration, reflecting that voiced by members of the public, that the ’MP filter' remains in place. The up-coming dissolution of Parliament prior to a General Election will result in a five-week period in which people will be unable to take their complaints to the Ombudsman at all because there will be no Members of Parliament, a deeply unsatisfactory state of affairs. The abolition of the ’MP filter' is long overdue. The addition of a single clause to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill would achieve this and should be introduced as a matter of urgency.The second matter concerns Parliamentary debate when the Ombudsman issues a report indicating that the Government is failing to take steps to remedy injustice it has been found to have caused, as happened with the Equitable Life report. The Committee recommends an interim solution with the Government committing to providing a three-hour debate, in government time and on a substantive motion, on any future report by the Ombudsman concluding that injustice has gone unremedied. A longer-term solution not dependent on Government willingness to provide a debate is needed. |