01/11/2021
You requested the following information: ‘I would be grateful if you would provide by email the following information: 1. The process and procedures used by the PHSO to progress a complaint that has been received from a member of the general public for investigation. 2. The process and procedures used by the PHSO to progress an 'Appeal' against a decision made by a Case Officer, including details on who should undertake the Appeal, their independence in relation to the original decision and the normal time scale involved. 3. The process and procedures used by the PHSO to progress a Service Complaint, where the manner in which a decision is made fails to comply with the standards specified by the PHSO, for example within the published Charter. 4. Information on the total number of cases received by the PHSO in the 2019-20 period amd the number of cases upheld, either partially or in their entirety. 5. Information on the total number of cases 'Appealed' in the 2019-20 period and the number of cases upheld, either partially or in their entirety. 6. Information on the total number of of Service Complaints received in the 2019-20 period and the number of cases upheld, either partially or in their entirety.’
I am in the process of making a formal complaint about the office of the public guardian and would like information on all cases involving the public guardian in the last 13 years. I understand that you intend to make these available on your website in the future but I should like to read them now. … I should also like you to answer a supplementary question. You say on your website that many complaints do not reach you because they have to go through an MP. I don't understand what you mean by that. Is it that MPs simply neglect their duties in this respect or that they positively decide not to send complaints on to you?”
“Would you please provide the regulation(s) which specify the referral process, restrictions and standard referral procedure exemptions, Also please treat this email as an FOI request for details of the number and referral source of all Ombudsman Investigations that were not referred by a MP?”
"1. I am requesting a link to the most recent board meeting minutes.* 2. I am requesting information regarding the number of board meetings carried out in 2020.* 3. I am requesting information regarding the number of board meetings planned for 2021.* 4. I am requesting information on how long it takes PHSO to sign off and publish board meeting minutes.* 5. I am requesting that PHSO prioritise the way in which board meeting minutes are published on their website in order to ensure transparency in the future. "
I have been informed by ICO that it is standard practice for PHSO to release their report on complaints about UK Government departments at the same time as the annual PACAC review. The 2019/20 PACAC review was held in November 2020. No specific mention was made at that review on the issue of complaints handled about Government departments. Can PHSO confirm; 1. That the data report concerning complaints made about Government departments was provided to PACAC in time for the annual scrutiny meeting in November 2020? 2. That this report was subsequently made available to the public on the PHSO website? Please provide a link to this report for the year 2019/20 as it is not possible to find it on your website.
1. What performance targets are given to caseworkers/investigators in respect to the handling of and/or closing of complaints allocated to them? 2. What incentives are given to caseworkers/investigators in respect to the handling of and/or closing of complaints allocated to them?
29/10/2021
The details we require are: • Suppliers who applied for inclusion on the contract and were successful & not successful at the ITT stage • Actual spend on this contract, from the start of the contract to the current date • Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?”
Dear Public Health Ombudsman Your first principal is listed as’ getting it right’. This seems a given for a body overseeing fairness. It is not a difficult principal to understand. Please inform me how the recent appointment of Rebecca Hilsenrath is ’right’, given that she has very recently resigned from three high profile public roles? The resignations follow publication of her travel from Hertfordshire to Wales and subsequent movements during two government lockdowns. These actions broke lockdown rules of which she apparently was not aware. How can this behaviour adhere to your principals?
Please provide the following details of any and all gifts and/or hospitality provided by the cybersecurity company Darktrace (also known as Darktrace Limited, Darktrace Holdings and Darktrace Plc): -- The monetary value;* -- The description;* -- The date;* -- The unit, office or department in which the recipients of the gifts/hospitality worked;* -- Whether the gifts/hospitality were accepted, rejected, or otherwise donated;* Please provide this information for any gifts/hospitality received from June 2013 onwards inclusive in the form of an itemised list for each instance of a gift and/or hospitality. Please also disclose whether you were using Darktrace's services in May 2017.* Please provide the most up-to-date information as of the date this request is fulfilled in electronic (soft copy) form. If it is not possible to fulfil this request due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request. If you can identify any other ways that my request could be refined I would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.
Justin Madders MP, Shadow Minister for Health and Care has asked the Cabinet Office another question regarding the delay in assigning caseworkers and completing investigations. Allocation of a complaint has gone up from 29 days to 74 days and the average time from allocation to completion is now 152 days. The response is always that as an independent body the Ombudsman will respond directly to Mr Madders. These responses, unlike the questions are not put in the public domain yet they are of great public interest. I am making a request for the release of all correspondence between PHSO and Justin Madders over the last 12 months.
Your request: ‘I was wondering whether the 2021 employee pay review/settlement has now been finalised and implemented. If so, please find enclosed a Freedom of Information request regarding this matter. If it has yet to be concluded do you happen to know when would be best to submit my request again? 1] Please state the effective date (day, month and year) of your organisation’s 2021 pay review. 2] If the 2021 pay review has yet to be finalised please state the month in which you anticipate it will be concluded. 3] Please state the employee group/s covered by the 2021 pay review. 4] Please state the total number of employees covered by the 2021 pay review. 5] Please provide a copy of your 2021 pay agreement (if applicable) or generic pay circular sent to employees (that is one that does not identify any individual employee) outlining the outcome of the latest pay review if there are no collective negotiations. 6] Please state the % consolidated basic pay rise received by the lowest-paid adult (aged 18 and over) employee as a result of the latest pay review, excluding the effect of any incremental progression, merit pay or bonuses. 7] If an employee’s annual pay award is determined solely according to an assessment of their individual performance (commonly known as a merit increase) as opposed to an across-the-board pay rises (where all employees generally receive the same increase irrespective of their individual performance) please state the percentage of the paybill allocated to fund these awards, the range of increases and whether or not the awards are consolidated. 8] If any employees were eligible for individual performance-related payments or bonuses over and above the general pay rise please state the range of increases (either as a percentage of their base salary or a cash amount as applicable), whether or not they were consolidated into basic pay and please state the overall % of the paybill allocated to fund these awards. 9] Please state the
The request: 1. How many complaints has the Parliamentary Ombudsman received for investigation each year in the last 10 years? 2. How many complaints have been investigated by the Parliamentary Ombudsman each year? 3. How many complaints were rejected for investigation by the Parliamentary Ombudsman each year because they were claimed to be too old? 4. How many complaints rejected each year involved the death or serious injury of the patient?
28/10/2021
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Please provide any information that you hold answering to any of the following descriptions: 1. Any application you made in 2019 or 2020 to be a "Stonewall Diversity Champion" or to be included on Stonewall's "Workplace Equality Index," including any attachments or appendices to those applications. Please redact personal details if necessary.
Please provide full details of/copies of any documents relating to the following question, Under what circumstances can PHSO lawfully rescind/change a final Decision Form, and/or anything written therein?
Please provide details of the circumstances under which a CCG could lawfully make a referral, as stated below. I am aware the NHSE policy states, "NHS England can also refer a complaint to the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman for a final decision.", however, this doesn't include CCGs. In light of our inability to resolve your complaints locally, please note that the CCG is currently considering making a direct referral to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in relation to your case.
Under the FOI Act please disclose how many people with a healthcare worker qualification and experience of providing direct healthcare to patients (e.g. doctor or nurse, not manager) have been employed as a non-executive director on your board, and when was the last time a healthcare worker sat on your board as a non-executive director. Please also disclose if your stated regard for transparency allows people using your service to complain to be given the name, work location and qualification details of those clinicians providing expert review for their case (i.e. reading their confidential medical information). Please advise me of the number / proportion of service users who have been provided with such information about their clinician expert reviewer. I do not give my permission for my name to be made public (outside of PHSO) in association with these requests. Please confirm that is the case.
Thank you for the information. I have just one simple query relating to the salary. 'Grade/ Salary-Grade G Assistant Director plus additional 10% as operational deputy' I can find nothing on your website to explain what 'Grade/Salary-Grade G' means: https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/corporate-information/freedom-information-and-data-protection/our-publication-scheme/our-broad-pay-ranges Information on salaries is provided on salary scales 2-8 and (i) executive directors (ii) directors and (iii) lead clinicians and clinical advisors. The executive director's salary scale, for example, ranges from £68,817 – £298,562. What exactly does 'Grade/Salary-Grade G' mean?
1. Please provide (i) the number of applications you received for the post (ii) the number of candidates shortlisted (iii) the number of candidates interviewed. 2. For each part of 1. please specify the numbers in relation to internal candidates. 3. Please disclose the amount paid to the recruitment agency Hays (and any other recruitment agencies, if applicable) in respect of filling the post.”
I would like the University of Manchester to reveal details about the research misconduct investigation steps and details about a case I filed against a University staff member as I have strong suspicious that the University doesn't follow the investigation procedure properly and I have evidence to support my suspicion. I have requested this to University higher officials but in return I was threatened by the University legal team.
27/10/2021
I see from your table 'Complaints about the NHS in England 2020/21' that only 3 complaints* were resolved with the agreement of the complainant after detailed investigation: 'Detailed investigations resolved with the agreement of the complainant' * column J row 2912 https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/publications/complaints-parliamentary-and-health-service-ombudsman-2019-20-and-2020-21 1. How many complainants do the 471 complaints you 'accepted for detailed investigation' relate to? 2. Please provide the number of these complainants who were: i. offered mediation; ii. offered mediation and accepted it; and iii. Offered mediation and refused it. 3. Please also provide the number of these complainants who accepted mediation but did not accept the outcome of the mediation. 4. Please provide all recorded information explaining your rationale for offering mediation to complainants whose complaints have been 'accepted for detailed investigation'.