The creation of an integrated public services ombudsman is ‘overdue’, a think-tank report published today has said.
Local Government Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin co-authored the Democratic Audit report with senior lecturer in the school of law at the University of Sheffield, Dr Richard Kirkham.
Dr Martin said: ‘There is now an opportunity to ensure that we have a system for redress that reflects the changing relationship between the citizen and the state with an ombudsman at its apex that is more accessible, more effective and more relevant.’
Dr Kirkham added: ‘Reform in the ombudsman sector, including the formation of a single public services ombudsman for England, is an old debate that has never been properly addressed.
‘There are admittedly some risks attached to merging different schemes, but if today we were to design the sector afresh surely no-one would come up with the current solution.
‘Now that the ombudsman idea is embedded in our administrative justice system, its design should be updated to make it better equipped to deliver the service required of it.’
