Responses to ombudsman findings and recommendations

Two kinds of response

Bodies under investigation respond twice. First they comment on the allegations. Under the UK Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 the Commissioner must give the principal officer of the department, and anyone alleged to have taken the action, an opportunity to comment ². Investigations are conducted in private ².

Second they respond to findings and recommendations. Ireland's Ombudsman Act 1980, as enacted, bars an adverse finding or criticism without giving the person an opportunity to consider it and make representations ⁵.

European Union

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/1163 governs the European Ombudsman ¹. Any EU citizen, or any person living or registered in a member state, may complain within two years of learning the facts, after first approaching the institution concerned ¹.

Where an inquiry finds maladministration, the Ombudsman informs the institution without undue delay and may make recommendations. The institution must send a detailed opinion within three months ¹. On a reasoned request the Ombudsman may extend that by no more than two months. If no opinion arrives, the Ombudsman may close the inquiry without it ¹. The closing report goes to the institution, and to the European Parliament where the scale of the problem requires ¹. The annual report must assess compliance with recommendations ¹.

The complainant is kept in the loop. The Ombudsman tells the complainant of any proposed solution and the institution's comments, and the complainant may comment or add information at any stage ¹. At the close, the complainant learns the outcome, the institution's opinion and any recommendations ¹.

United Kingdom and Scotland

Section 10(3) of the 1967 Act lets the Commissioner lay a special report before each House of Parliament where injustice from maladministration has not been, or will not be, remedied ³. The Commissioner must lay an annual report and may lay others ³.

In Scotland, section 16 of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 applies where a report finds injustice or hardship ⁴. If it appears the injustice will not be remedied, the Ombudsman may make a special report, send it to those who received the original report and lay a copy before the Scottish Parliament ⁴. The listed authority must reimburse the Ombudsman's costs of making it public ⁴.

Ireland

Section 6(3) of the Ombudsman Act 1980, as enacted, lets the Ombudsman recommend that a department reconsider a matter, take measures, or give reasons, and ask to be told of its response within a specified time ⁵. The complainant is told of the result, the recommendation and any response ⁵. If the measures are not satisfactory, the Ombudsman may include a special report in a report to the Houses of the Oireachtas ⁵. This page uses the enacted text, and later amendments were not checked.

Comparison