How reliable/fair are local Government Ombudsman's Investigations

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman did not have the information requested.

[Name Removed]

Dear Local Government Ombudsmen,

Please can you provide me with the following information under the
Freedom Of Information Act 2000:-

1. Explanation of all the steps that the local government ombudsman takes to verify and ensure that information received from council officers are accurate/true.

2. The criteria your organisation use to decide whether or not statements made by council officers are true or false.

3. The criteria your organisation use to decide whether or not statements made by complainants are true or false.

4. The characteristics of things that your organisation consider to be concrete evidence that a council officer has lied or made false statements.

5. Whether or not maladministration includes situations when there is evidence that council officers have told lies or made false statements.

5. What your organisation does when it is presented with concrete evidence that council officers) had lied or made false statements about:

a. a complainant

b. a situation/event.

6. What your office does when it finds that a council officer has told lies or made false statements about:

a. council employee(s)

b. Camden resident(s)

c. Council tenant(s)

7 The distinguishes between telling lies and giving out false information about:

a. individuals

b. the council(s)

c. events/situations.

I would be grateful if you could send me your full reply within the usual 20 days time limit.

Yours faithfully,

[name removed] [name removed]

Trevor R Nunn left an annotation ()

I was told by a Local Government Ombudsman investigator based at the York office that they have NO reason to doubt anything told them by a council officer.

http://ombudsmanwatchers.org.uk/evidence...

A Local Government Assistant Ombudsman refused to investigate my complaint based on the what they were told by a council officer without any prudent validation.

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/2009/01/l...

A later finding of maladministration proved the council officer had misled the Assistant Ombudsman, the Ombudsman did nothing about it.

It would appear the mindset of those working in the Local Government Ombudsman's office is that a council officer never lies but complainant usually do. If a council officer is ever caught out lying, a very rare occurrence with the Local Government Ombudsman, they usually excuse it as an oversight. Which is understandable when you realise that the majority of staff involved in investigating complaints are ex council.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/12...

For the truth about Local Government Ombudsmen visit my blog

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/

Trevor R Nunn left an annotation ()

Further to my previous annotation, I suggest you validate the response you receive from the Ombudsman before accepting it as the truth.

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/2009/11/l...

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/2010/06/w...

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/2009/07/t...

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/2009/10/l...

For more examples use 'search this blog' here

http://lgowatcher.blogspot.com/

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Dear Ms [name removed]

Our ref: CS/10/060

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request below received on 14 June. We will respond within the 20 working day target (which would be by 12 July 2010) or, if unable to do so, we will write to you again explaining why.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook
Communications & Records Manager | DL: 020 7217 4734 |
Local Government Ombudsman's office | 10th Floor |
Millbank Tower | Millbank | London | SW1P 4QP |
www.lgo.org.uk |

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Trevor R Nunn left an annotation ()

I can also answer one of your questions by relating to my own experience.

[Question (5?) What your organisation does when it is presented with concrete evidence that council officers had lied or made false statements about:

a. a complainant

b. a situation/event.]

Based on council officers lying and making false statements about me and my complaints on numerous occasions over a period of 12 years;

a. nothing.

b. nothing.

Over the last five years the LGO will have received over 80,000 complaints. The majority of which are complaints against one of the 400 or so Councils in England. Yet not one of these complaints led to the LGO criticising a council member of staff for lying or misleading them during an investigation. I call that a statistical impossibility.

http://ombudsmanwatchers.org.uk/evidence...

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

1 Attachment

Dear Ms [name removed]

I attach a letter in response to your request below.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook
Communications & Records Manager | DL: 020 7217 4734 |
Local Government Ombudsman's office | 10th Floor |
Millbank Tower | Millbank | London | SW1P 4QP |
www.lgo.org.uk |

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[Name Removed]

Dear Foi Officer,

Thank you for your reply and for referring me to information on your website.

However, after examining the information that you had referred me to, I felt that I should clarify my request for the following reasons:

The information on your website does not include those that I am seeking from you and leads me to suspect that you may have misunderstood my request;

The information on your website is generally about the types and sources of information that you can obtain from the council;

My questions are essentially referring to the stage after the ombudsman has obtained and examined information (ie various documents and statements) from the council and hears that they are incomplete and/or different from the information he/she had obtained from the complainant;

My request is also asking for a clear definition, description and illustrative examples of what the ombudsman would accept as concrete evidence that a council officer has lied.

For example, what would the ombudsman accept as concrete proof that the council has misinformed third parties including the ombudsman by:

1. Supplying distorted/falsified information
(including documents, verbal or written statements) about a complainant;

2. Removing, hiding or destroying pertinent information (including documents, file notes, audio tapes, memos and/or emails) from the complainant's files

I hope that this clarification of my request will help you to identify and supply me with the information that I had requested for.

Please feel free to ask me for further clarification of my request if necessary.

If you are still not able or willing to supply the information that I had requested for, then please confirm this within the next seven days so that I can request for an internal review of your response.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

[name removed] [name removed]

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

1 Attachment

Dear Ms [name removed]

 

Thank you for your email of 3 July.

 

I shall ensure that the FOI Officer sees this on her return from leave
next week.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Rob Rundle

Publicity & Information Assistant | DL: 020 7217 4686 |

10th Floor | Millbank Tower | Millbank | London | SW1P 4QP |

 

[1]LGO 4 col SML at 70%

 

Website: [2]www.lgo.org.uk

 

 

     Dear Foi Officer,

    

     Thank you for your reply and for referring me to information on

     your website.

    

     However, after examining the information that you had referred me

     to, I felt that I should clarify my request for the following

     reasons:

    

     The information on your website does not include those that I am

     seeking from you and leads me to suspect that you may have

     misunderstood my request;

    

     The information on your website is generally about the types and

     sources of information that you can obtain from the council;

    

     My questions are essentially referring to the stage after the

     ombudsman has obtained and examined information (ie various

     documents and statements) from the council and hears that they are

     incomplete and/or different from the information he/she had

     obtained from the complainant;

    

     My request is also asking for a clear definition, description and

     illustrative examples of what the ombudsman would accept as

     concrete evidence that a council officer has lied.

    

     For example, what would the ombudsman accept as concrete proof that

     the council has misinformed third parties including the ombudsman

     by:

    

     1. Supplying distorted/falsified information

     (including documents, verbal or written statements) about a

     complainant;

    

     2. Removing, hiding or destroying pertinent information (including

     documents, file notes, audio tapes, memos and/or emails) from the

     complainant's files

    

     I hope that this clarification of my request will help you to

     identify and supply me with the information that I had requested

     for.

    

     Please feel free to ask me for further clarification of my request

     if necessary.

    

     If you are still not able or willing to supply the information that

     I had requested for, then please confirm this within the next seven

     days so that I can request for an internal review of your response.

    

     I look forward to hearing from you soon.

    

     Yours sincerely,

    

     [name removed] [name removed]

    

    

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George Cant left an annotation ()

Very interesting questions Theresa Ezekpo

They will try not to answer these, its important that you push them to answer.

Understanding what they use/agree is valid evidence is a question that a lot of complainants are left asking.

Anne Hide left an annotation ()

The simple answer to your request

"How reliable/fair are local Government Ombudsman's Investigations"? Is

Local Government Ombudsman's investigations are neither reliable nor fair.

Accordingly they will find it impossible to answer your questions without obfuscating their response in an attempt to hide the truth.

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

2 Attachments

Dear Ms [name removed]

I attach a letter in response to your email below.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook
Communications & Records Manager | DL: 020 7217 4734 |
Local Government Ombudsman's office | 10th Floor |
Millbank Tower | Millbank | London | SW1P 4QP |
www.lgo.org.uk |

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Trevor R Nunn left an annotation ()

FOI only allows access to recorded information, not opinion, what you should ask for is a list of all the recorded instances in which the Ombudsman has actually found that a council officer has lied, fabricated evidence etc (use your full list). I think you will find any such instances few and far between or you will get the usual we can't tell you section 44 exemption nonsense.

http://ombudsmanwatchers.org.uk/evidence...

[Name Removed]

Dear Foi Officer,

Thank you for your reply.

It is unfortunate that you are not able to give me the information for which I had requested on this occasion.

Yours sincerely,

[name removed] [name removed]

George Cant left an annotation ()

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/st...

That may get a more meaningful answer.

Karen White left an annotation ()

Kensington and Chelsea Council TMO, Kensal Road, W10 needs to be investigated. They should be named as the number one liars when it comes to lying to the OMBUDSMAN. This include Customer Relations Managers supported by senior members of staff including Chief Executive.

They do not take ownership for anything, instead they will make your life more hell after you log a complaint and you will start receiving letters threatening you with eviction for one weeks water charge less than £5.00 per week.

They will even create fictitious works orders and emails to cover their track.

Shame on you Kensington and Chelsea TMO

Neil Gilliatt (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Put quite simply the Local Government Ombudsmen, like any other sham government watchdog organisation is defrauding those funding their existence, i.e., the taxpayer as they only watch-out for the public body being complained about.

Mr j morgan left an annotation ()

Absolutely correct. As a recent person expecting an honest, open, fair and unbiased consideration of my complaint i was shocked to discover just how corrupt these people are. Unbeleivably most are ex council employees, and are making sure the councils are protected from people that have bona fida complaints.

If there are any organisations that are getting together to protest to parliament (or other) about these low life i would gladly join them.
Read my blog at http://howsleepingdogslie.blogspot.co.uk/

[Name Removed] (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

The LGO is by design obstructive to complainants.

The chances of getting accountability, integrity or fairness from the ombudsman or intrinsically corrupt local authorities, like Camden Council, will remain extremely limited without the complete abolition and replacement of the costly and obstructive Ombudsman's office.

Until then we will continue to get double whammies of injustice from the LGO despite current and future recommendations of committees.