I thought I would give you an update regarding the situation with the SPSO.
The submissions made by the supporters to RSSB committee have made a significant impact on the committee as they are now questioning John Swinney MSP about why there is so much dissatisfaction with the service provided by the SPSO (see attached).
The great news is that Professor Brown has left her post as the Ombudsman as planned at the end of March 2 ½ years earlier than her term of office allowed.
Mr Jim Martin has been appointed as the New Ombudsman and starts in May. He is currently the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland, which was set up and established in 2007 and is also the Scottish non-executive chairman of Logica CMG and runs a management consultancy, Causeway Consulting.
He was General Secretary for the Educational Institute of Scotland from 1987 until 1995 and serves as a member of the Scottish Funding Council.
Mr Martin will cease his current positions on taking on the full-time role of Ombudsman. The starting salary for the position is £83,000.
Mr Eric Drake, Director of Investigations is acting Ombudsman until May when Mr Martin arrives. It appears that Mr Drake has decided to leave the SPSO as his current position of Director of Investigations is being advertised as being vacant.
The SPSO have for 6 years denied that anyone complains about their decisions. They have never acknowledged that anyone complains about their decisions or reported them to the Scottish Parliament or on their web site.
The Scottish Ombudsman Watch supporters have had a small but significant victory regarding these decision complaints by forcing the SPSO to acknowledge them by making FOI request on the “What do they know” web site. I would like to thank all of the supporters who made these FOI requests and have helped to hold the SPSO to account.
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/scottish_public_services_ombudsman
The SPSO have had to acknowledge that they have received a total of 903 complaints about their decisions over the last 6 years, 359 of these complaints were in the last 12 months of Professor Brown’s office (April 2008 to March 2009).
The number of complaints about the SPSO’s decisions in 2008/2009 have increased by 60% compared to the number they received in 2007/2008 and a staggering 500% increase in complaints about their decisions compared to the number they received in year 2006-2007. That is why the RSSB committee have been asking Mr Swinney MSP about the SPSO’s performance.
The SPSO have published their responses to these complaints on their web site (very bottom of page) for the periods
04/2003 to 03/2004 – 34 complaints
04/2006 to 03/2007 – 63 complaints
http://www.spso.org.uk/how-complain/complaining-about-spso/challenges-casework-decisions
And the following will be published on their web site in due course
04/2005 to 03/2006 – 74 complaints
04/2007 to 10/2007 – 128 complaints
10/2007 to 03/2008 – 125 complaints
This is a small but significant victory and shows that the public can hold the SPSO to account.
One of the supporters received an email from an MSP saying there was going to be a Public Services Reform Bill going before Parliament this year.
We all need to keep complaining about how Professor Brown rejected valid and irrefutable complaints of maladministration and try to influence the changes to the SPSO act so that no other Ombudsman can operate the way Professor Brown did.
Once Mr Martin, the new Ombudsman, arrives then that will be the time to complain to him about how you were treated by Professor Brown.
It will be interesting to see if the New Ombudsman and new Director of Investigations are willing to support the previous incumbent’s policy of rejecting valid and irrefutable complaints of maladministration.
Best regards
Scottish Ombudsman Watch
