2.Main Content
Northern Ireland Ombudsman
This page contains information about the Northern Ireland Ombudsman, including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
When can complaints be made?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes
What it does
The Northern Ireland Ombudsman (NI Ombudsman) is made up of two schemes: the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints. Both offices are currently held by one person.
The Assembly Ombudsman covers complaints about Northern Ireland government departments and their agencies, including:
- the Social Security Agency
- the Child Support Agency
- the Department of the Environment (NI) and its agencies
- tribunals
The Commissioner for Complaints covers complaints about other public bodies in Northern Ireland, including:
- the Housing Executive
- local councils
- health and social services boards, trusts and agencies
- education and library boards
A full list of bodies within the NI Ombudsman's jurisdiction is available at the Northern Ireland Ombudsman website.
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Advantages
- it is independent of the organisations that are the subjects of the complaints it handles
- it is private for individual complainants
- it is free
- its recommendations are usually complied with
- it can put pressure on a body to resolve a complaint
- it is possible to get a thorough investigation - to find out what happened
- a wide range of remedies is possible
- it can influence good practice and procedures within government bodies
- it is not adversarial
Disadvantages
- it can take time to get a decision - an average of 12 months for a full investigation
- the NI Ombudsman will not deal with cases where the complainant is looking for significant compensation
- the NI Ombudsman cannot deal with complaints about discretionary decisions unless something was wrong in how they were reached
- there is a chance that your complaint will not be investigated
It is important to remember that the aim of the NI Ombudsman is to remedy an injustice caused by something going wrong in the administration of the case. The NI Ombudsman does not have a role in "championing" the rights of complainants where they simply disagree with a decision that has been taken.
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Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
The complaint must be about maladministration by one of the bodies within the scope of the scheme. "Maladministration" refers to a fault in the way an organisation has made a decision. The NI Ombudsman will not comment on the merits of the decision itself, but on how the decision was taken. The ombudsman gives some examples of maladministration on his website. They include:
- avoidable delay
- Faulty procedures or failing to follow correct procedures
- Not telling you about any rights of appeal you have
- Unfairness, bias or prejudice
- Giving advice which is misleading or inadequate
- Refusing to answer reasonable questions
- Discourtesy, and failure to apologise properly for errors
- Mistakes in handling your claims
The decision or action must have also caused injustice to an individual complainant. An injustice might be financial loss, a delay in receiving a service you are entitled to, stress, hardship, or inconvenience.
The categories of complaints include:
- personnel (such as mishandling a job application)
- education
- social security
- social services
- housing
- health care, treatment and clinical judgement
- local government
- planning decisions
- child support
You have to make your complaint to the body you are complaining about first, to give them a chance to put things right.
Each year, quite a high proportion of complainants are sent away from the scheme, because their complaint is not eligible. This is usually for one of two reasons: either the complaint is about the merits of a decision, not about the way the decision was taken; or it is because the complainant hasn’t made their complaint direct to the organisation first. If the NI Ombudsman can’t accept a complaint, a reason will always be given.
There are some complaints that the NI Ombudsman can’t deal with, including:
- complaints about a decision the complainant knew about more than twelve months ago
- a complaint which has already been the subject of a court or tribunal action
- a complaint that might be the subject of a court or tribunal action
- court proceedings
- public passenger transport
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When can complaints be made?
Complaints about a government department or agency must be referred by a Member of the Assembly, so completed complaints forms should first be sent to the chosen member rather than directly to the ombudsman. Complaints about a public body can be sent directly to the ombudsman. In both cases, the complainant should first have used the organisation’s internal complaints procedure. Before accepting a complaint, the NI Ombudsman will ask the body to confirm this.
The NI Ombudsman can decide not to insist on this requirement; for example, if the body has been unreasonable in the way it has handled the complaint.
Complaints should be sent to the NI Ombudsman within twelve months from the time you first knew about the problem. The NI Ombudsman has some discretion to set aside this time limit if there are good reasons for doing so.
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Cost
The scheme is free to complainants.
The NI Ombudsman does not award compensation for costs. However, the NI Ombudsman will aim to put you in the position you would have been in if the maladministration had not happened. This means that any financial award may take account of the reasonable costs involved in bringing a complaint.
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Timescale
On average the initial screening of a complaint takes one week, after which you will be told if the ombudsman can investigate the complaint.
After that, it depends on the complaint. According to the figures in the 2006-07 annual report, most complaints are investigated and resolved in around three months. Complaints that need a complex investigation and a full report take around a year. Health service complaints take longer – around 32 weeks for an initial investigation, and around 71 weeks for a full report.
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Procedure
All complaints must be in writing. There is a standard form which is available on the Northern Ireland Ombudsman's website. However, a letter setting out the basis of the complaint will do. Any supporting documents should be sent with the complaint - for example, it is helpful to include copies of any letters and replies.
All correspondence is kept confidential by the NI Ombudsman and is not shown to the other side. Although the names of organisations that have been complained of are published in the NI Ombudsman's Annual Report, the names of the complainants are not.
Initial screening
Once a complaint is received, there will be an initial screening to determine whether the ombudsman can take on the complaint. You will be told one way of the other within a week. If it can’t help, the Ombudsman’s office will try to advise you about the right place to take your complaint.
If the ombudsman can take on the complaint, it will be investigated by an officer who will make further enquiries and examine any evidence. The officer might conclude that there was no maladministration resulting in injustice or that the matter has already been remedied by the body. In either case the complaint will not be investigated further.
Only a small percentage of complaints go on to be formally investigated. This will happen if there appears to be maladministration with serious resulting injustice.
Report
At the end of the formal investigation, which takes up to a year, a draft report is prepared. It is sent to the complained-of body, which, by law, has the opportunity to respond to the NI Ombudsman about it. The law does not provide for the complainant to see a copy of the draft report, although they will have been kept informed of the progress of the investigation.
A formal investigation report concludes the process. This is sent to both parties and states whether or not the NI Ombudsman has found that the complainant has suffered injustice as a result of maladministration. If so, it will recommend remedies.
The department or public body is not bound by the NI Ombudsman's recommendations, but they are nearly always complied with.
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Outcomes
Remedies which the NI Ombudsman is likely to recommend include:
- making an apology
- making a payment that is due
- a change in administrative procedure
- another remedy required to "put things right"
- a modest payment
The aim is to put the complainant in the position they would have been in had the department or public body not been guilty of maladministration. The result is that complainants who do obtain a remedy are likely to obtain one that matches the "mistake" that occurred.
There is no limit placed upon the NI Ombudsman in recommending an appropriate remedy. However, the NI Ombudsman would take into account whether the person complaining contributed to the problem by anything they did, or failed to do.
The NI Ombudsman follows up on his recommendations to determine if they have been complied with, but he has no power to enforce compliance.
There is no right of appeal against the ombudsman’s decision, if it is made in a report after an investigation. A complainant who is unhappy with the result can apply to the county court for an award of damages. However, this provision is intended to deal with a situation where a public body refuses to implement the NI Ombudsman's recommendation, not where the complainant is dissatisfied. Very few cases have ever been taken to the county court and none by a "dissatisfied complainant".
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Revised October 2007
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