19 July 2008

Mr S Hardwicke Carruthers

Via email ([FOI #1206 email])

Our ref: CS/08/0021/HJP

(Please quote our reference when contacting us)

If telephoning contact Hilary Pook on 020 7217 4734

or if using email send to: [email address]

Dear Mr Hardwicke Carruthers

Request for information

You asked for details of any expenditure incurred by the Ombudsman in relation to the identification of maladministration causing injustice by Trafford Council in a particular case. I cannot supply this information, as expenditure on individual cases is not recorded, and would be impossible to disaggregate. The only information I can give you in relation to the cost of investigating complaints is that the average cost per complaint was £701 in 2007/08.

You also asked how much the LGO had spent in relation to an advertisement identifying that Trafford had been at fault, as allowed by section 31 of the Local Government Act 1974. The type of advertisement referred to in s.31 is a statement that the Ombudsman can require the authority concerned to publish in a newspaper, where the authority has failed to comply with the recommendations made in an Ombudsman's further report. In the case you refer to, a further report has been issued, but as yet the Ombudsman has not required the authority to issue a statement. In any case, the authority concerned is required to pay for such statements - not the Ombudsman.

You may be getting confused with the advertisement an authority has to place in the public notices of a local newspaper to announce that a report has been issued and is available for inspection. This is referred to in section 30 of the Local Government Act. But, again, it is the authority that pays for this, not the Ombudsman.

Finally, you ask how many “other Council's [sic] have following identification of maladministration and injustice simply changed Ombudsman.”

/…

I am afraid I'm not sure if I understand the question. Councils do not choose the Ombudsman that deals with complaints against them. Individual Local Government Ombudsmen are appointed by the Queen. The Commission for Local Administration in England - the body which comprises the three Local Government Ombudsmen and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman -operates the Local Government Ombudsmen service, and it decides which Ombudsman will deal with which local authorities. However, please let me know if I have not understood your question correctly.

That concludes my response and I hope you find the information useful. If you feel I have not dealt properly with your request, you have the right to appeal and, should you wish to do so, I can supply a copy our internal complaints procedure. You also have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner to determine whether your request has been properly dealt with. You should note however that the Commissioner will not consider any complaint where you have not first exhausted our internal complaints process or where there has been undue delay in contacting him. You will be able to obtain further details of the Information Commissioner's role from the website on www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook (Ms)

Communications and Records Manager

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