SPSO Business Review – Implementation process begins

Scope of the Review
The SPSO has started to implement the changes brought about by the review of our process which the Ombudsman, Jim Martin, announced last October.

Its scope was ‘to review all aspects of SPSO complaint handling policies, guidance, procedures and practices within SPSO, including challenges, appeals and complaints about our service, and to produce revised policies and a structure which will be customer focussed, cost efficient and deliver excellent service to complainers, bodies under jurisdiction and will take account of the needs and aspirations of all our stakeholders.’ 
 
Structural changes

The main change to our service is a greater emphasis on early resolution of complaints.  We have made structural changes to support this change – our three investigation teams are now two teams: one charged with providing advice to both the public and complaint handlers within public sector organisations and discussing possible solutions at an early stage; the other with a more forensic examination of the issues raised.
 
There have been other changes to our structure, which you can see by clicking on our organisational chart via this link.  Some titles have changed – for example, we now refer to complaints reviewers rather than complaints investigators, and our determination letters are now called decision letters.  Our outreach team has become the advice and outreach team. We also have a new process for dealing with complaints about our service, this can be accessed via this link, and information about asking for a review of our decision can be accessed via this link.   We are gradually updating our leaflets and our website to reflect these changes, and also the changes to our process of considering complaints. 
 
Early resolution

It is because we believe that it is in everyone’s interest for things to be sorted out quickly and as close to the problem as possible that we are putting greater resource into ‘early resolution’.  It is the keystone of our service and the part where people will experience some change, both complainants and people working in organisations we take complaints about. Both these groups are likely to experience greater contact than previously from our complaints reviewers.  We would encourage complaint handlers as well as the public to ask us for advice. All those involved in a complaint should feel free to discuss possible solutions and remedies with us. If our advice line team cannot answer your question, they will put you through to someone who can.   
 
Investigation

Here the emphasis is on greater clarity. At the outset, the complaints reviewer and the complainant will agree what the complaint is about and what the complainant wants to happen to put matters right. As has always been the case, the complaint reviewer’s job is to be impartial and take into account both sides of the story, and to do this they will collect and consider evidence in the same fashion as before.
 
We will continue to report our findings and conclusions in most cases in a decision letter. As previously, we may send a report to Parliament if the Ombudsman decides that there is a public interest in placing the facts of the case in the public domain. Before the final report is published, we will as previously send the complainant and the organisation a draft of the report, to give them both a chance to highlight any factual inaccuracies. And as previously, learning from the reports will be shared through the Ombudsman’s Commentary.