Dear Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,

In a FOI request dated the 10th October, you refused to supply the information requested, which was a request for your latest staff survey. You stated that the reason for this was that the data was still being analysed etc. etc.
Could you therefore provide me with a copy of the previous staff survey.
Could you also provide me with the results of the previous staff survey.
As it was prior to the latest one, presumably you have finished analysing the answers?
Could you provide me with the dates for the latest staff survey undertaken as well as the date for the one prior to this?
Could you tell me who conducted your latest staff survey and
Could you tell me who is analysing the data gleaned from the latest survey?
Could you tell me how much it cost to conduct the latest staff survey, for which you refuse to supply the results?
Yours faithfully,

CA Purkis

foiofficer, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

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Ombudsman. This return e-mail shows that we have received your
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[Name Removed] (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Excellent questions ... But they will still be ' analysing' the one before the one before the last one.

foiofficer, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

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Dear CA Purkis

Your information request (FDN-179406)

I write further to your email of 5 December 2013. In your request information about the previous staff survey to the one that was carried out in August 2013. I will address your questions in turn.

1. Could you therefore provide me with a copy of the previous staff survey?

I have attached a copy of the previous staff survey questionnaire to this email.

2. Could you also provide me with the results of the previous staff survey?

I have attached a copy of the previous staff survey results to this email.

3. Could you provide me with the dates for the latest staff survey undertaken as well as the date for the one prior to this?

The previous staff survey took place in August 2011. The latest staff survey was in the field in August 2013, we are working with staff to develop an action plan based on the initial results. The plan is being implemented and will be followed up by a 'Pulse survey' in Spring 2014 to measure staff satisfaction and the extent to which staff feel the action plan has been successfully implemented. Findings from the staff survey will be available once the results from the Pulse survey has been analysed in Spring 2014.

4. Could you tell me who conducted your latest staff survey and could you tell me who is analysing the data gleaned from the latest survey?

The survey was conducted by IFF Research. Top line analysis has been undertaken by IFF research. The leadership team, managers, and staff have been requesting analysis of data (to meet their specific information needs). The data is held by the Corporate Research Manager. However, it is not possible to identify individual members of staff as the dataset provided by IFF Research ensures that any results with less than five people in an individual category have been supressed. Therefore, the survey is anonymous.

5. Could you tell me how much it cost to conduct the latest staff survey, for which you refuse to supply the results?

The most recent staff survey costs £18,000. We are not refusing to supply the results and have explained that the results will be made publicly available once the action plans with staff and managers have been developed and implemented. This is normal procedure with employees' surveys, for example the Civil Service People Survey results are made available once departments have had time to consider and implement action plans.

Yours sincerely

Claire Helm
Freedom of Information/Data Protection Officer
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
E: [Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman request email]
W: www.ombudsman.org.uk

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

I write further to your email of 5 December 2013. In your request information about the previous staff survey to the one that was carried out in August 2013. I will address your questions in turn.

.......No you didn't. You asked for the August 2013 staff survey.

[name removed] (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

I would suggest that responses of caseworkers should be separated out as they are the front line staff who deal with the public and who write the reports (although these are subsequently vetted and can be changed by senior staff). With such a top heavy management staff who are very distanced from the public the results are bound to be skewed. I note there are 125 caseworkers compared to 452 full time equivalent in other roles. If caseworkers alone were surveyed (anonymously so that their jobs were not threatened) I suspect the results would be very different!

Della left an annotation ()

I'm sure you are right Mary. It is amazing that caseworkers make up only a fifth of the staff and yet phso are attempting to 'make more impact for more people'. Hmmmmmm.

CA Purkis left an annotation ()

For everyone's further interest, please see below;

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...

Don't forget to follow.

Dear foiofficer,

You have stated, you are not refusing to give the public the results of your staff survey, but just delaying disclosure in order to do something about the results.
As you are developing an 'action plan' and then following it up with a Pulse Survey in Spring 2014, could you confirm that your survey showed that the your staff were generally unsatisfied?
Could you please tell me how much the Pulse Survey will cost?

Yours sincerely,

CA Purkis

foiofficer, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Thank you for your e-mail to the Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman. This return e-mail shows that we have received your
correspondence.

show quoted sections

All email communications with PHSO pass through the Government Secure
Intranet, and may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for
legal purposes.
The MessageLabs Anti Virus Service is the first managed service to achieve
the CSIA Claims Tested Mark (CCTM Certificate Number 2006/04/0007), the UK
Government quality mark initiative for information security products and
services. For more information about this please visit www.cctmark.gov.uk

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

But surely the staff survey will only show how the importance of 'good leadership' - as consistently held up as being crucial by Dame Julie Mellor to PASC - is appreciated by the PHSO's employees?

So why the worry in presenting it to the public?

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

Perhaps this is why:

From the Written evidence from the Public and Commercial Services Union.

..... Finally, during the past two years, staff morale has plummeted and the most recent ‘People Survey’, whose details PASC members should now be familiar with, attests to that. The news that following a routine ‘health check’ the Office was told it would fail to gain ‘Investors in People’ re-accreditation next year is a further dismal reflection of the slippage in standards and direction. But this desperate situation will only be resolved if the leadership team and the Board, led by the Ombudsman, engage with their staff, and make a realistic appraisal of how things are, rather than how they would like them to be. We need to take positive and realistic steps to resolve the problems we currently face and focus on the individual complainants that PHSO was set up to serve.

CA Purkis left an annotation ()

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Della left an annotation ()

Looks like the complainants are not the only ones ignored.

foiofficer, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Dear CA Purkis

Your information request (FDN-181300)

I write in response to your email 7 January 2014. In your email you ask that I ‘confirm that your survey showed that the your staff were generally unsatisfied?’ As you know we are not disclosing any information about our latest staff survey at this stage and therefore I cannot add any further information on this point.

You also requested ‘Could you please tell me how much the Pulse Survey will cost?’ We currently do not hold this information. We are currently in the process of deciding what would be the best way to carry out the pulse survey. We are yet to decide whether this will be done in-house or by an external company on our behalf. The evaluation processes in deciding what approach to take will include selecting the best value option.

Yours sincerely

Claire Helm
Freedom of Information/Data Protection Officer
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
W: www.ombudsman.org.uk

show quoted sections

All email communications with PHSO pass through the Government Secure Intranet, and may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded for legal purposes.
The MessageLabs Anti Virus Service is the first managed service to achieve the CSIA Claims Tested Mark (CCTM Certificate Number 2006/04/0007), the UK Government quality mark initiative for information security products and services. For more information about this please visit www.cctmark.gov.uk