The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, participated in the second day of the conference on “Enhancing the Implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Strong and Effective NHRIs in the EU,” organised by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

During the second day, two important themes were discussed. The first panel explored ways forward for stronger and more effective NHRIs in the EU. In an intervention during the debate, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Judge Zammit McKeon, welcomed the proposed conclusions of the Belgian Presidency of the European Council, encouraging member states to strengthen institutions like the Ombudsman that have a remit to protect the rule of law and human rights and give due recognition as valued actors.

The second theme discussed the different human rights structures and the role of strong NHRIs in wider Europe. It was encouraged that nations without NHRIs should establish independent institutions dealing with human rights and strengthen already existing structures in the promotion and protection of fundamental rights.

At the end of the conference, a declaration was approved: a conference statement on the role of National Human Rights Institutions, which recommended, among other things, establishing a strong and independent NHRI where it does not yet exist, and strengthening NHRIs in line with international standards and recommendations, including those from the international accreditation committee and the European Commission.

The full statement can be read here.

This Report is the fourth one since the Ombudsman was assigned the specific responsibility for the external, independent monitoring of the implementation of the UN Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities. Like the previous reports, it examines deficiencies, insufficiencies and distortions in the existing legislation, the secondary regulations, the administrative function and practice.

It presents the policy fields where there has been progress in the attuning of the national framework to the Convention’s provisions, it notes any delays and/or futile regulations, it addresses and often reintroduces recommendations for the substantial transposition of the Convention’s provisions into statutory regula tions, it presents the Authority’s recommendations which have been accepted and formed specific legislative interventions, it evaluates the degree of effective ness of the policies’ implementation and it displays the administration’s level of readiness and responsiveness.

El Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo,  se ha reunido este jueves en Madrid con las defensoras y los defensores autonómicos con el objetivo de estrechar la coordinación y colaboración entre las diferentes defensorías y concretar la organización de las jornadas anuales, así como los talleres técnicos previos de preparación. Todo ello con el objetivo de continuar trabajando, coordinadamente, por la defensa de los derechos ciudadanos y las libertades públicas.

En esta reunión celebrada hoy en la sede del Defensor del Pueblo, los defensores han abordado, además de los asuntos ya citados, expedientes compartidos entre distintas instituciones, para tratar de atender las quejas ciudadanas de la manera más eficaz posible y que las administraciones públicas resuelvan los problemas planteados con solvencia y prontitud.

Ángel Gabilondo mantiene, desde su llegada a la institución en noviembre de 2021, una relación fluida con los defensores autonómicos y valora positivamente estos encuentros que sirven también para explorar nuevas vías de trabajo conjunto. En este sentido, Gabilondo señala que el marco de la cooperación entre el Defensor del Pueblo y los defensores autonómicos es la Ley 36/1985, de 6 de noviembre, por la que se regulan las relaciones entre la institución del Defensor del Pueblo y las figuras similares en las distintas Comunidades Autónomas. Esta apunta en concreto que “a fin de desarrollar y concretar adecuadamente la colaboración y coordinación entre el Defensor del Pueblo y los comisionados parlamentarios autonómicos, se concertarán entre ellos acuerdos sobre los ámbitos de actuación de las administraciones públicas objeto de supervisión, los supuestos de actuación de los comisionados parlamentarios, las facultades que puedan ejercitar, el procedimiento de comunicación entre el Defensor del Pueblo y cada uno de dichos comisionados parlamentarios, y la duración de los propios acuerdos”.

Según el Defensor del Pueblo, “cumplimos con el espíritu de la Ley porque estamos convencidos de que la colaboración entre instituciones es fundamental para prestar un servicio eficaz a la ciudadanía”.

En el encuentro han participado, además del Defensor del Pueblo de España, Ángel Gabilondo, la recién nombrada Justicia de Aragón, Concepción Gimeno; el Defensor del Pueblo de Andaluz, Jesús Maeztu; el Diputado del Común de Canarias, Rafael Yanes; el Procurador del Común de Castilla y León, Tomás Quintana; la Síndica de Greuges de Catalunya, Esther Giménez-Salinas; el Síndic de Greuges de la Comunitat Valenciana, Ángel Luna; el Ararteko del País Vasco, Manuel Lezertua; la Valedora do Pobo de Galicia, María Dolores Fernández, y el Defensor del Pueblo de Navarra, Patxi Vera.

Am Rande seines Sprechtags im Landkreis Sömmerda am 20.02.2024 traf der Bürgerbeauftragte, Dr. Kurt Herzberg, den dortigen Landrat, Harald Henning, zu einem Gespräch. Fehlerkultur in Ämtern, Fachkräftemangel und Behördendigitalisierung waren zentrale Themen des Austausches, bei dem die Erwartungen der Bürgerinnen und Bürger und die Problemlagen der Ämter zur Sprache kamen. Mit Blick auf das Amtszeitende des Landrates zum 30.6.2024 dankte der Bürgerbeauftragte dem scheidenden Landrat für die stets vertrauensvolle und gute Zusammenarbeit. Insbesondere bei dem erfolgreichen Pilotprojekt "Mündliche Erörterung im Widerspruchsverfahren" sei Henning in den Jahren 2018 und 2019 ein wichtiger Impulsgeber und Unterstützer gewesen. Herzberg wörtlich: "Ihnen ist das Gespräch mit den Menschen wichtig. Politik und Verwaltung muss sich immer neu erklären und verständlich machen, damit die Entscheidungen auch Akzeptanz finden. Aus dieser Grundüberzeugung heraus haben Sie die Arbeit des Bürgerbeauftragten unterstützt. Dafür danke ich Ihnen herzlich."

Devon County Council has agreed to look into how it calculated allowances to nearly 300 families who look after children as special guardians, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

During a complaint from a woman who was looking after her grandchild under a Special Guardianship Order, the Ombudsman found the council was wrongly taking into account benefits payments when calculating the allowances it would pay, contrary to the Ombudsman’s long-held position on this topic, and Government recommendations.

The council wrongly had a blanket policy of deducting child benefit from all special guardians receiving universal credit. The council agreed to change this policy with effect from January 2024.

It also confirmed there were 170 other special guardians in the county on means tested benefits who may have been impacted by its calculations, and a further 125 where the council had no information.

Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“It is disappointing that the council cannot provide us with any evidence that it considered the individual circumstances of special guardians receiving means-tested benefits before making the deductions and instead applied its policy to everyone without justification.

“In addition to this, it relied on its own policy to make these calculations – not national guidance – but its policy was based on its misunderstanding of our decisions in other cases.

“I am pleased the council has now agreed to amend its policy and revisit the calculations it has made to others in its area, but it should not have taken several complaints by this grandmother and our investigation for it to realise that its own policy was wrong.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the grandmother and recalculate her Special Guardianship Allowance (SGA) following government guidance and pay her a sum equivalent to the deductions it has made since January 2022.

It will also pay her a combined £600 for the delays caused by its complaints process and for the lack of support and information following her Special Guardianship Order.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to recalculate the SGAs it has paid to the other 170 special guardians using correct guidance and pay them a sum equivalent to any deductions it has wrongly made.

For the 125 carers about whom it has no information, it has agreed to invite them to provide information to enable it to review their financial circumstances and, where appropriate, recalculate their SGAs, backdating any amount due.

It will also review its complaints system to ensure statutory timescales are being met.

Article date: 22 February 2024