BackOn 26 July 2013, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) laid its 2012/2013 public report before the Scottish Parliament. Despite increasing numbers of complaints and significant cuts in resourcing, the office’s productivity also rose and the SPSO dealt with 9% more complaints than in the previous year.
The Ombudsman's key message is:"My ultimate commitment is to ensure justice for the people of Scotland. I want this office to contribute to improving people’s lives through better public services. To do this I must have the right processes and sufficient resources in place to run the high quality complaints handling service the public deserves. The Ombudsman service is even more necessary in times of economic hardship when the already vulnerable are disproportionately disadvantaged."
As in the previous years, the SPSO once again saw an increase in the number of complaints received in 2012/13. This has been the pattern since 2009/10; in that time the SPSO has seen a 23% increase in complaints and a 15% reduction in resources, excluding funding for new areas of responsibilities.
Ombudsman Jim Martin expresses his disappointment in the fact that 46% of the complaints that were valid for the SPSO to look at, were upheld (compared to 39% of the previous year). According to Ombudsman Martin: “These are complaints where the public service provider has already had the opportunity to look into the complaint and provide resolution.” As a consequence, the increase in upheld complaints demonstrates the continuing importance of the Ombudsman’s work.
The Annual Report for 2012/2013 is now available on the website of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
Source: Office of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
