Findings of the Housing Ombudsman.
Dear Housing Ombudsman Service,
In each of the last six years please state:
1) How many compaints you received and dealt with each year.
2) How many of these found for the complainant?
3) How many found for the body about whom the complaint had been made?
4) How many complainants disagreed with your decisions?
5) How many complainants took this up with you further to your decision?
Yours faithfully,
James Plant
Dear Mr Plant
The Housing Ombudsman Service is not a public body listed in Appendix One
of the Freedom of Information Act. Nevertheless, the Ombudsman has agreed
that the Service should consider requests like yours as if the provisions
of the Act applied, providing they do not interfere with the discharge of
his statutory functions. We have a voluntary information scheme which
explains how we deal with such requests -- see
[1]www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk. Under this scheme, and in line with the
advice from the Information Commission on publication, we provide all the
statistical information about the Service's casework online, primarily in
the annual reports. We suggest you seek the answers to your questions in
those reports. Please note that we may not have statistics on some of the
topics you listed, but do consult the annual reports to find out what we
do have.
Yours sincerely
Housing Ombudsman Service
Dear Housing Ombudsman Service,
Thank you for your response.
I have read the report to which you refer but it does not go anywhere close to providing the information I have requested.
I would suggest that the information I have asked for must be available to you as these statistics would be gathered annually for a variety of purposes.
Will you please deal with this request in the circumstances.
Yours faithfully,
James Plant
Dear Mr Plant
As we said in our previous message, some of the answers to your questions
are not readily available because we do not produce the information in
question. However, if you look carefully you will find some answers in the
annual reports.
As we also said before, we have a voluntary information scheme. We are not
funded by the taxpayer or receive financial assistance from the
government. If we were to look for the details you wish to obtain we will
have to do so especially for you; we will have to charge a fee for this
work because our resources are limited. All this is also explained in our
information scheme, and it is not unusual from bodies who are not listed
in Schedule One of the Freedom of Information Act.
In the circumstances, if you confirm that you are willing to pay for the
information you seek we will calculate the approximate cost and we will
advise you how much of that sum you will have to cover; we will try not to
pass the full cost to you. We will, otherwise, be unable to entertain
further correspondence on this matter.
We await your response, but if we do not hear from you by 8 June we will
assume you do not wish us to continue dealing with your request.
Yours sincerely,
Housing Ombudsman Service
Gadawodd James Plant anodiad ()
This has not been pursued further in view of the latest response from the body concerned. It appears to be obstructive in dealing with FOI requests which is unacceptable for a public body. It is in the public interest that it is accountable. I draw my own conclusions.
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Gadawodd James Plant anodiad ()
The information requested is not available in the source stated by The Housing Ombudsman. It has declined to answer in effect.