8 August 2008

Mr T Nunn

Via email ([FOI #1468 email])

Our ref: CS/08/0038/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 Nunn

Request for information

In your email of 27 July, you asked how many decisions each of the three Ombudsmen personally made during the last reporting period. This is not information we record on our database (beyond the numbers of reports that the Ombudsmen have issued), so it is not information we hold. We could not even manually retrieve the information by looking in our files, as decisions made at the beginning of the accounting period (starting in April 2007) will now have been destroyed, as we only keep complaint files for 14 months after a decision has been taken. So the only figures I can give you are those for the number of complaints where the Ombudsmen have issued reports in 2007/08. These are:

Tony Redmond: 42 reports, all finding maladministration causing injustice.

Jerry White: 55 reports, all finding maladministration causing injustice.

Anne Seex: 22 reports, 21 finding maladministration causing injustice, one finding maladministration that did not cause injustice.

You also asked for a copy of the written guidance issued to their staff by the Ombudsmen after they have delegated the ability to make decisions on a case. I attach two separate `delegation arrangements' documents. One relates to complaints received up to 31 March 2008, and the other relates to complaints received from 1 April 2008. (The legislation setting out the operation of the Local Government Ombudsman service was amended by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, which came into force on 1 April 2008). I also attach a document comprising some extracts from our `Investigation handbook' which specifically relate to these issues.

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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

Enc: Delegation arrangements to 04-08

Delegation arrangements from 04-08

Extracts from investigation handbook

LGO 01 (03/08)