The Public Protector of Zambia made her maiden appearance before  a select Committee of the National Assembly  on Legal  Affairs, Human Rights, National Guidance, Gender Matters and Governance on 31 January 2018, to review the operations of the Office .

Ms Connie Lau, The Ombudsman held a press conference on February 1 to announce the results of two direct investigations, namely “The Mechanism of the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health for Handling Smoking Offences” and “Government’s Control over Fly-tipping of Construction Waste and Landfilling Activities on Private Land”.

In the coming weeks the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will be considering the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s (SPSO) draft revised Strategic Plan. The revised Plan covers the SPSO’s vision and strategic aims for 2018-2020. It is available at the bottom of this page, along with the covering letter to the SPCB. The SPSO invites comments, from individuals and organisation, about all aspects of the draft Plan. The consultation is open until 28 February 2018.

The Ombudsman Sindh Mr. Asad Ashraf Malik organized a seminar on “Challenges of Health Care System in Sindh – Role of Provincial Ombudsman Sindh” which focused on the existing health facilities, identifying gaps and devising innovative strategies for improved service delivery, effective polio immunization campaign in Sindh Province.

In 2017, the Parliamentary Ombudsman received a record number of 6,192 complaints, which is an increase of almost 1,300 complaints from 2016 (4,922 complaints). Complaints against the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) totalled 1,169, and 814 of them concerned social assistance, therefore increasing by about 700 compared to 2016. The criminal sanctions field, social insurance and labour and unemployment security were other administrative branches that saw a clear increase in the number of complaints.

 

Raymond Théberge took office as Commissioner of Official Languages on January 29, 2018. He has a PhD in linguistics from McGill University, a master’s degree in applied linguistics from the University of Ottawa and a bachelor’s degree in history from the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. He held a number of leadership positions before coming to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and he has significant experience with official language minority communities. He also has extensive experience in academia and has worked across Canada.

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has published a commentary on his Office’s experience of dealing with complaints from refugees and asylum seekers living in direct provision centres.  In ‘The Ombudsman & Direct Provision – The story so far’, the Ombudsman says that sometimes residents are reluctant to complain and some complaints arise as a result of cultural differences.  As a result the Ombudsman’s office has worked with the Reception and Integration Agency, and residents and managers in 35 centres around the country to seek to improve services.

The United States Ombudsman Association (USOA) will hold its 2018 Annual Conference from 24 – 28 September 2018 in Portland, Oregon at the Courtyard Marriott, Portland City Center. The USOA Conference and Planning Committee is seeking speakers and session presenters interested in sharing their subject matter expertise.