OMBUDSMAN WATCHERS RESOURCE CENTRE

Background

Prior to becoming a Local Government Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin was Director of Policy & Engagement and Deputy Chief Executive at the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO). A non-departmental public body created to support improvement in local authority regulatory services.

Jane joined LBRO from Warwick Business School where she was a senior research fellow in public leadership. Until October 2006, she was the first executive director of the Centre for Public Scrutiny, where she advised both central and local government. Jane has strong links with local authorities through her work with the Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE).

She began her career in local government in 1999 as an Education Officer for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council before continuing her career in the public sector by taking on roles such as the Executive Director at the Centre for Public Scrutiny (2003 until October 2006) and Director of Patient-Citizen Exchange for the NHS Centre for Involvement.

Other interests

Was a non-Executive Director, NHS Coventry’s board from 1st October 2009 until 30th September 2013. (£7,882 remuneration) She resigned before taking up the post of Local Government Ombudsman.

Qualifications

The University of Birmingham, School of Education: Ph.D. 'The Changing Practice of Parent-School Relations : A Tradition Contested'. M.Ed. Education Management and Policy: Resource Management in Schools. B.A. General Arts

The Open University, Ashridge Management College: Advanced Leadership Course for Local Government.

Comment

Architect of a new national body to promote and develop public scrutiny across government. She was the principal author of the CfPS four principles of good scrutiny in the Good Scrutiny Guide, which has become standard guidance for non-executives across government and the public sector, and directed the Department of Health funded support programme for local authority scrutiny of health.

She has acted as an adviser to a number of government departments and national bodies. She was a member of the Department of Health Expert Panel advising on policy development in public involvement in health, a member of the Home Office Citizen Participation Task Force, and a member of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Advisory Group.

Dr Martin was politically active (Labour) but ceased any political activity when she took up the post of Local Government Ombudsman.

Another Ombudsman who has never had a proper job.

Jane Martin

Ombudsman (Coventry)

Coventry office coverage

London boroughs South of the River Thames (except Richmond) and Harrow; the cities of Lancaster, Manchester and York; and the rest of England, not included in the areas of Tony Redmond and Anne Seex.

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