Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s
(PHSO) Information Rights team. This is to confirm we have received your
request.
If you have made a request for information (either a Freedom of
Information request, a Subject Access request or a Material Evidence
request), you will receive an acknowledgement email/letter when your case
has been created on our system. You will also be provided with a unique
reference number relating to your information request -please use this
reference number in correspondence with us.
If your enquiry is a case-related question/concern that does not relate to
an information request, please refer this enquiry to your assigned
caseworker.
For all other enquiries that do not relate to information requests, please
refer this to our dedicated enquiries email address: [email address]
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights
Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ
E: [PHSO request email]
W: www.ombudsman.org.uk
Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy policy:
Our privacy policy: What happens to the information you give us |
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

10/10/2024

Dear Marc Jordan,

PHSO Reference 00002665

Acknowledgement of your request for information

Thank you for your correspondence of 10 October 2024.

Your correspondence will be handled as a request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. We aim to issue a full response by 07 November 2024.

If we require further information or cannot meet this deadline, we will
let you know.

You may find the information you are looking for on our website as part of
our  [1]Publication Scheme or [2]Casework.

To find out more about how we handle your personal data and information
requests, please see our [3]Privacy Policy.

Yours sincerely

Information Access & Assurance
Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

E: [4][PHSO request email]

W: [5]www.ombudsman.org.uk

Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy notice

References

Visible links
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2. https://decisions.ombudsman.org.uk/
3. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/co...
4. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
5. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

Dear Marc Jordan,
Thank you for your email of 10 November 2024 Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
Your request has been handled in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.
Your request:

Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

This is a formal request for information under the FOIA.

Background: On 09.05.2024 Ms Rebecca Hilsenrath (Ombudsman and Chair)
wrote a letter to AJM Healthcare: “I look forward to hearing from you by 6
June to inform me of the steps you will take to review this increase in
complaints, your complaints processes, and the support you offer to your
customers.”

[1]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
to AJM 090524.pdf&data=05|02|[PHSO request
email]|683ae080b8eb4ba2cc7d08dce9143095|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638641521531575695|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|40000|||&sdata=wH5fHfoaxnfvvhbihUVqdAYf1v2zKbwD38xqdF6p2c8=&reserved=0

This letter was widely used in the press together, in certain cases, with
the misleading insinuation that the NHS WCSs severely lacks Government
funding.

Obviously, funding is not the problem, because AJM Healthcare report £3m
profit for FY2023, pay their private equity backers £2.3m in dividends in
FY2023, pay average wages per employee of £35K pa and award a 30% pay rise
to the highest paid executive in the year ended 30.04.2023 (see below AJM
annual report & accounts).

[2]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|683ae080b8eb4ba2cc7d08dce9143095|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638641521531618645|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|40000|||&sdata=QXPPWOxWINj25sCJ/VK2ZK/MweERscZKZPdflUIa3/4=&reserved=0

According to:
[3]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|683ae080b8eb4ba2cc7d08dce9143095|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638641521531637552|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|40000|||&sdata=tsbxbg9uYHs3swMxoWGPNLiKeDAImheNmkhLgGx7HLM=&reserved=0

the public has “the right to have any complaint you make about NHS
services acknowledged within three working days”, but AJM Healthcare seems
to be ignorant of or disregard this right (in the case of my complaint
dated 31.05.2024, about out-of-date eligibility criteria for NHS
wheelchairs dated June 2016).

Please release the following information:

1. Did PHSO receive a response to their letter of 09.05.24 from AJM
Healthcare?

2. If so, at what date did AJM respond to the PHSO’s letter?

3. Can the PHSO kindly make public AJM’s reply in response to this FOI
request?

4. In the event that PHSO is unable to publish AJM’s response to their
letter, please release at least the reasons given by AJM for the dramatic
increase in the number of complaints escalated to PHSO.

5. Is PHSO undertaking any measures to encourage AJM to improve their
State-funded community services (turnover £27m in FY2023)?

6. Did AJM use the excuse of underfunding by the Government to explain the
increase in complaints about poor NHS WCS service?

7. Is it important for PHSO that complaints are acknowledged within three
(3) working days, as per The Local Authority Social Services and National
Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, or is this deemed
irrelevant by PHSO?

Our response:

We will deal with each point in turn.

 1. Yes.
 2. 6 June 2024.
 3. Letter attached.
 4. Letter attached.
 5. Please bear in mind the legislation allows access to information
'held' by us and not for the creation of new information or opinion.
Therefore, we may only be able to supply documents or data that
contain the information we hold in response to your request. This
information is not held.
 6. Letter attached.
 7. Please bear in mind the legislation allows access to information
'held' by us and not for the creation of new information or opinion.
Therefore, we may only be able to supply documents or data that
contain the information we hold in response to your request. This
would involve the creation of opinion or new information.

We hope that this information is useful.

If you believe we have made an error in the way we have processed your
information request, it is open to you to request an internal review. You
can do this by writing to us by post or by email to [4][PHSO request
email]. You will need to specify what the nature of the issue is and we
can consider the matter further. Beyond that, it is open to you to
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office ([5]www.ico.org.uk).

Yours sincerely

Information Access & Assurance
Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

E: [6][PHSO request email]

W: [7]www.ombudsman.org.uk

Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy notice

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...
2. https://find-and-update.company-informat...
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
4. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
5. http://www.ico.org.uk/
6. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
7. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s
(PHSO) Information Rights team. This is to confirm we have received your
request.
If you have made a request for information (either a Freedom of
Information request, a Subject Access request or a Material Evidence
request), you will receive an acknowledgement email/letter when your case
has been created on our system. You will also be provided with a unique
reference number relating to your information request -please use this
reference number in correspondence with us.
If your enquiry is a case-related question/concern that does not relate to
an information request, please refer this enquiry to your assigned
caseworker.
For all other enquiries that do not relate to information requests, please
refer this to our dedicated enquiries email address: [email address]
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights
Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ
E: [PHSO request email]
W: www.ombudsman.org.uk
Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy policy:
Our privacy policy: What happens to the information you give us |
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

11/11/2024

Dear Marc Jordan,

PHSO Reference 00002743

Thank you for your correspondence of 11 November 2024 in which you
requested an internal Review under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please note the internal review has been allocated a new case reference
number this will be different from the original reference number allocated
to your initial request.

We aim to issue a full response by 10 December 2024.

If we require further information or cannot meet this deadline, we will
let you know.

Yours sincerely

Information Access & Assurance

Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

E: [1][PHSO request email]

W: [2]www.ombudsman.org.uk

Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy notice

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
2. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

05/12/2024

Dear Marc Jordan,

Thank you for your email of 11 November 2024 in which you requested and
Internal review of our recent response in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

Original Request:

Background: On 09.05.2024 Ms Rebecca Hilsenrath (Ombudsman and Chair)
wrote a letter to AJM Healthcare: “I look forward to hearing from you by 6
June to inform me of the steps you will take to review this increase in
complaints, your complaints processes, and the support you offer to your
customers.”
[1]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
to AJM 090524.pdf&data=05|02|[PHSO request
email]|683ae080b8eb4ba2cc7d08dce9143095|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638641521531575695|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|40000|||&sdata=wH5fHfoaxnfvvhbihUVqdAYf1v2zKbwD38xqdF6p2c8=&reserved=0

This letter was widely used in the press together, in certain cases, with
the misleading insinuation that the NHS WCSs severely lacks Government
funding.
Obviously, funding is not the problem, because AJM Healthcare report £3m
profit for FY2023, pay their private equity backers £2.3m in dividends in
FY2023, pay average wages per employee of £35K pa and award a 30% pay rise
to the highest paid executive in the year ended 30.04.2023 (see below AJM
annual report & accounts).

[2]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|683ae080b8eb4ba2cc7d08dce9143095|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638641521531618645|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|40000|||&sdata=QXPPWOxWINj25sCJ/VK2ZK/MweERscZKZPdflUIa3/4=&reserved=0

According to:
[3]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|683ae080b8eb4ba2cc7d08dce9143095|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638641521531637552|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0=|40000|||&sdata=tsbxbg9uYHs3swMxoWGPNLiKeDAImheNmkhLgGx7HLM=&reserved=0
the public has “the right to have any complaint you make about NHS
services acknowledged within three working days”, but AJM Healthcare seems
to be ignorant of or disregard this right (in the case of my complaint
dated 31.05.2024, about out-of-date eligibility criteria for NHS
wheelchairs dated June 2016).

Please release the following information:
1. Did PHSO receive a response to their letter of 09.05.24 from AJM
Healthcare?
2. If so, at what date did AJM respond to the PHSO’s letter?
3. Can the PHSO kindly make public AJM’s reply in response to this FOI
request?
4. In the event that PHSO is unable to publish AJM’s response to their
letter, please release at least the reasons given by AJM for the dramatic
increase in the number of complaints escalated to PHSO
5. Is PHSO undertaking any measures to encourage AJM to improve their
State-funded community services (turnover £27m in FY2023)?
6. Did AJM use the excuse of underfunding by the Government to explain the
increase in complaints about poor NHS WCS service?
7. Is it important for PHSO that complaints are acknowledged within three
(3) working days, as per The Local Authority Social Services and National
Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, or is this deemed
irrelevant by PHSO?

Our response:
We will deal with each point in turn.

 1. Yes.
 2. 6 June 2024.
 3. Letter attached.
 4. Letter attached.
 5. Please bear in mind the legislation allows access to information
'held' by us and not for the creation of new information or opinion.
Therefore, we may only be able to supply documents or data that
contain the information we hold in response to your request. This
information is not held.
 6. Letter attached.
 7. Please bear in mind the legislation allows access to information
'held' by us and not for the creation of new information or opinion.
Therefore, we may only be able to supply documents or data that
contain the information we hold in response to your request. This
would involve the creation of opinion or new information.

Your request for an internal review:

Re: Request for internal review - PHSO ref. 00002665 - PHSO’s
non-compliance with its duty under s.1(1)(a), s.1(1)(b) and s.16 (duty to
provide advice & assistance) of the FOIA 2000
Many thanks for the public FOI response dated 07.11.2024 (see link below):

[4]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|30a30971d88f4535495308dd022ee0f6|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638669124935065073|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ==|0|||&sdata=5zziWgJDzcjg6qiubnOOAQuwXa2VIhl/4WlX2tBQz+U=&reserved=0

First of all, I would like to thank the PHSO team for the rapid and clear
acknowledgment of my FOI request, for the allocation of a ref. number
thereby increasing accountability & traceability, for PHSO’s compliance
with the statutory deadline announced, and for PHSO’s disclosure of AJM
Healthcare’s reply to Rebecca Hilsenrath’s letter to them dated
09.05.2024. 

Regrettably, PHSO’s responses to items.5 and 7 led me to believe that the
PHSO FOI team do not understand their duties under s.1(1)(a), s.1(b) and
s.16(1) (duty to provide advice & assistance) of the FOIA 2000:

s.16(1) It shall be the duty of a public authority to provide advice and
assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do
so, to persons who propose to make, or have made, requests for information
to it.

Regrettably, I also find that PHSO’s FOI response dated 07.11.24 lacks
clarity and is confusing when responding to my item no.7: “Is it important
for PHSO that complaints are acknowledged within three (3) working days,
as per The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service
Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, or is this deemed irrelevant by
PHSO?”

PHSO response: “Please bear in mind the legislation allows access to
information 'held' by us and not for the creation of new information or
opinion. Therefore, we may only be able to supply documents or data that
contain the information we hold in response to your request. This would
involve the creation of opinion or new information.”

It is unclear to me what the third sentence (above) refers to and what is
the meaning of “This would involve…”. It also seems to me that the third
sentence (above) contradicts the first sentence. This lack of clarity
obliged me to conduct extensive and time-consuming fact-checking on the
ICO website, on the DHSC website and on the PHSO website.

During my in-depth searches of the PHSO website (over 100 pages read, and
7 levels deep), I found what seems to be the official PHSO position
(opinion) on my item.7:

“When you receive a complaint, the first thing you must do is acknowledge
it.

The 2009 regulations say that your organisation must acknowledge the
complaint no later than three working days after the day you receive it.
You can do this verbally, electronically or in writing.” (see link below)

[5]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|30a30971d88f4535495308dd022ee0f6|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638669124935095804|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ==|0|||&sdata=6VjTAKgfBmxUGvJxATlfZuCP7wwo/qGGoLSZ8FC8qsk=&reserved=0

“What the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service
Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 say At section 13, paragraphs (3),
(4) and (5), the 2009 regulations say: ‘The responsible body must
acknowledge the complaint not later than 3 working days after the day on
which it receives the complaint. The acknowledgement may be made orally or
in writing.’ A closer look: clarifying the complaint and explaining the
process 5 At section 13 paragraph (7), they say: ‘At the time it
acknowledges the complaint, the responsible body must offer to discuss
with the complainant, at a time to be agreed with the complainant - a. the
manner in which the complaint is to be handled; and b. the period (‘the
response period’) within which – (i) the investigation of the complaint is
likely to be completed; and (ii) the response required by regulation 14(2)
is likely to be sent to the complainant. c. If the complainant does not
accept the offer of a discussion under paragraph (7), the responsible body
must – a. determine the response period specified in paragraph (7)(b) and
b. notify the complainant in writing of that period.’” (see link below)

[6]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|30a30971d88f4535495308dd022ee0f6|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638669124935111617|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ==|0|||&sdata=4JfEMDvLYRAmwUxSheeogzlJzQHuLzEYqEf61+cq80g=&reserved=0

I believe that the PHSO FOI team should have sent me the above links in
response to my item.7, or should at least have invited me to read the
relevant section of the PHSO website, as was the case in another PHSO FOI
response, which used the same template response:

“Please bear in mind the legislation allows access to information 'held'
by us and not for the creation of new information or opinion. Therefore,
we may only be able to supply documents or data that contain the
information we hold in response to your request. The department reasonably
requires further information to identify and locate the information that
you have asked for. Please clarify detailing specifically what information
is sought. It may be that the information can be found on our website,
there are a wide range of policies and procedures on our publication
scheme.” (see link below)

[7]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|30a30971d88f4535495308dd022ee0f6|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638669124935127009|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ==|0|||&sdata=lE8LpvuExjYnuFSFzkL7PoAPMmjoJzFhwy9jxxRK+RU=&reserved=0

The PHSO document entitled NHS Complaint Standards - Summary of
expectations issues the vague recommendation below with respect to
acknowledgments:

“Staff respond to complaints at the earliest opportunity and consistently
meet expected timescales for acknowledging a complaint.”

[8]https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
request
email]|30a30971d88f4535495308dd022ee0f6|7c88cec864114f329333cf6877fd3515|0|0|638669124935142093|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ==|0|||&sdata=ZIBVM1wFe1Bj2Z+Nr4DnZcZlC0k1xenWn0Ne/S1wTsk=&reserved=0

As a remedy for PHSO’s failure to respond to my item.7 in accordance with
FOIA 2000, I expect the PHSO to review their FOIA policies, procedures and
handling of FOI requests, improve the clarity of the templates used by
staff and train staff to request clarification and conduct in-depth
searches themselves or collaborate with colleagues.

Please disclose the guidelines for PHSO investigators or any similar
internal document that assists PHSO investigators in reaching the
conclusion that failure to follow the organisation’s complaints policies
is a failure, in the same way that non-compliance with relevant NHS
regulations is also a failure.

With respect to my item.5 please release the information as to which
steps/measures PHSO undertook in relation to AJM Healthcare, apart from Ms
Hilsenrath writing to Mark Perress on 09.05.24.

Finally, the fact that PHSO does not provide responses in PDF format
resulted in all the links that I carefully provided were broken in PHSO’s
public FOI response, making the response very confusing and
unprofessional.

Please provide PHSO’s response in PDF format with all links working.

Our Internal review:

We received your request on 10 October 2024, we responded to your request
7 November 2024. Section 10 Freedom of Information Act requires Public
Authorities to comply with requests made under the Act promptly and in any
event no later than the twentieth working day following the date of
receipt.

PHSO has complied with Section 10 of the Act in this case.

We have extracted to following points which we believe you would like us
to address as part of the internal review.

I believe that the PHSO FOI team should have sent me the above links in
response to my item.7, or should at least have invited me to read the
relevant section of the PHSO website, as was the case in another PHSO FOI
response, which used the same template response:

You asked. Is it important for PHSO that complaints are acknowledged
within three (3) working days, as per The Local Authority Social Services
and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, or is
this deemed irrelevant by PHSO?

This is the creation of opinion you did not ask for a copy of the
complaint standards you asked were they important or irrelevant. This
information is not held under Freedom of Information Act, you have gained
access to the complaint standards on our website. They are easily
accessible, and you have access to them this does not require us to take
any further action.

Please bear in mind that the freedom of information Act allows any person
access to information held by a public authority and not the creation of
new information or opinion.

“As a remedy for PHSO’s failure to respond to my item.7 in accordance with
FOIA 2000, I expect the PHSO to review their FOIA policies, procedures and
handling of FOI requests, improve the clarity of the templates used by
staff and train staff to request clarification and conduct in-depth
searches themselves or collaborate with colleagues.”

This is not a valid request under the Freedom of information Act, you
cannot ask for remedy, if you are not content with how your request has
been handled you may complain to the Information Commissioner.

“Please disclose the guidelines for PHSO investigators or any similar
internal document that assists PHSO investigators in reaching the
conclusion that failure to follow the organisation’s complaints policies
is a failure, in the same way that non-compliance with relevant NHS
regulations is also a failure.”

This was not part of your original request and therefore will not form
part of this internal review a new request has been created and will be
responded to separately.

“With respect to my item.5 please release the information as to which
steps/measures PHSO undertook in relation to AJM Healthcare, apart from Ms
Hilsenrath writing to Mark Perress on 09.05.24.”

PHSO hold no information regarding measures/steps PHSO has undertaken we
have however advised them to complete the complaint standards
self-assessment available on our website. Please see the link below.

[9]Organisational assessment tool for the NHS | Parliamentary and Health
Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

“Finally, the fact that PHSO does not provide responses in PDF format
resulted in all the links that I carefully provided were broken in PHSO’s
public FOI response, making the response very confusing and
unprofessional.

Please provide PHSO’s response in PDF format with all links working.”

The links were the links provided by you; Therefore, you already have the
information we have responded and provided the information requested that
we hold under the Freedom of information Act. Providing you with working
links to information you provided us is not a valid request under the
Freedom of Information Act. 

You submitted your request via the “What do they know” website. The links
within the bodies of our requests and our response appear to be disabled,
however at the foot of the response the links are listed under the heading
visible links. We have checked “What do they know” and these links are
working we will not be taking any further action and do.

Right of appeal 

If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision.
Generally, the Commissioner will not make a decision unless you have
exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the PHSO. The Information
Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

[10]https://ico.org.uk/

Regards,
David Loughlin
Information Access & Assurance
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
E: [11][PHSO request email]
W: [12]www.ombudsman.org.uk

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...
2. https://find-and-update.company-informat...
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
4. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...
5. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/organisatio...
6. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...
7. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
8. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...
9. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/organisatio...
10. https://ico.org.uk/
11. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
12. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

Dear Marc Jordan,
Thank you for your request for information which received on 11/11/2024 in
which you requested information from the Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman. Your request has been handled in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

Your request:
"Please disclose the guidelines for PHSO investigators or any similar
internal document that assists PHSO investigators in reaching the
conclusion that failure to follow the organisation’s complaints policies
is a failure, in the same way that non-compliance with relevant NHS
regulations is also a failure."

Our response:
Under section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in
response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

This means we do not have to send you a copy. However, please be aware no
information has been withheld from you.

The information you requested is available on our Service Model Main
Policy and Guidance and the Ombudsman Principles, please see the link
below. 
 
[1]Service_Model_Policy_and_Guidance_v21.pdf

[2]​Ombudsman's introduction to the Principles | Parliamentary and Health
Service Ombudsman (PHSO)

We hope that this information is useful. 

If you believe we have made an error in the way we have processed your
information request, it is open to you to request an internal review. You
can do this by writing to us by post or by email to [3][PHSO request
email]. You will need to specify what the nature of the issue is and we
can consider the matter further. Beyond that, it is open to you to
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office ([4]www.ico.org.uk).

Yours sincerely

Information Access & Assurance

Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

E: [5][PHSO request email]

W: [6]www.ombudsman.org.uk

Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy notice

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/defau...
2. https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/ou...
3. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
4. http://www.ico.org.uk/
5. mailto:[phso%20request%20email]
6. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/