Universidad de Alcalá

Effective from 1 December 2017, the statutory rules for payment of subsistence support benefits have changed. The labour office must mandatorily pay at least 35% of the benefits to persons who are in material need for longer than 6 months in the form of vouchers for purchase of goods at the specified value. The vouchers are only intended for people in material need and are clearly marked as such (i.e. differently from standard meal vouchers issued as an employee benefit). Even though this new measure had only been in effect for one month at the end of the year 2017, the Ombudsman received 34 complaints within one month where people objected to this new way of distributing welfare.

The complainants primarily argue that payment in vouchers restricts their freedom of choice as to where to shop. Not all shops accept the vouchers and the shops accepting them do not return change. This means that the customers paying by vouchers have to choose the goods according their price so the final amount exactly corresponds to the voucher’s nominal value. As a consequence, people are forced to make more expensive purchases than if they received the benefits in money. The vouchers also cannot serve to cover co-payments for reimbursable medicines or rent (if the housing allowance is insufficient). Many people consider paying with vouchers degrading and are ashamed to use them. Benefits are also paid in vouchers to elderly people with low pensions. To receive a part of the benefit in vouchers, the elderly citizens must travel to the labour office even though they used to receive the entire benefit via a postal order. The same method is used to send parts of the benefits to people in health and social services facilities. In their situation, payment in vouchers lacks any justification since people in these facilities are not able to misuse the benefits and cannot use the vouchers at all (in social services facilities, they need money to pay for meals and services).

The Ombudsman considers the indiscriminate payment of benefits in vouchers unjustified. However, the Defender was unable to voice her opinion during the legislative process because the measure was only introduced by means of an MPs’ motion submitted during the second reading at the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies. Given the unjust impacts affecting specific persons in material need, the Ombudswoman will continue calling for an amendment to the legislation to make it less severe, e.g. by introducing exceptions for certain groups of people in material need.

Berlin: (hib/HAU) Der Petitionsausschuss hat sich am Mittwoch mit der Forderung beschäftigt, die Wahlperiode des Deutschen Bundestages nicht von vier auf fünf Jahre auszudehnen. Die Abgeordneten verabschiedeten während der Sitzung einstimmig eine Beschlussempfehlung, wonach die dahingehende Petition "den Fraktionen des Bundestags zur Kenntnis" gegeben werden soll.

Zur Begründung ihrer Eingabe machen die Petenten darauf aufmerksam, dass das Ziel der Demokratie schon in der Wortherkunft beschrieben sei. Das Volk sei der Souverän im Staat - eine Verlängerung der Wahlperiodendauer von einem Jahr bedeute eine entsprechende Einschränkung seines Wahlrechts, heißt es in der Vorlage.

In der Begründung zu seiner Beschlussempfehlung führt der Petitionsausschuss sowohl Argumente an, die für eine Verlängerung der Wahlperiode vorgetragen werden als auch solche, die dagegen sprächen. Als Argument für eine Verlängerung werde hauptsächlich angeführt, dass dann die Möglichkeit der kontinuierlichen, nicht durch die Notwendigkeit der Erneuerung der Legitimation unterbrochenen Sachberatung bestehe, schreibt der Ausschuss. Derzeit, so heißt es in der Beschlussempfehlung, könne ein großer Teil des ersten Jahres der Wahlperiode nicht voll für die Aufgabenerfüllung des Parlamentes genutzt werden, sondern werde für die Anlaufzeit der parlamentarischen Arbeit benötigt. Das letzte Jahr wiederum stünde schon mehr oder weniger im Schatten der bevorstehenden Wahlkampfauseinandersetzungen, womit im Wesentlichen nur zwei Jahre für die eigentliche parlamentarische Arbeit blieben.

Gegen eine Verlängerung der Wahlperiode werde wiederum eingewandt, dass sich damit die effektive politische Einflussmöglichkeit der Bürger vermindere, heißt es weiter. Die seltenere Gelegenheit für einen politischen Machtwechsel könne darüber hinaus "antiparlamentarische Einstellungen und außerparlamentarische Aktivitäten von Bürgern" fördern. Dem Argument einer effektiveren Gestaltung der parlamentarischen Arbeit durch Verlängerung der Wahlperiode werde entgegengehalten, dass eine längere Legislaturperiode unter Umständen auch zu einer Verminderung des "heilsamen Zeitdrucks" bei einer Umsetzung des politischen Gestaltungswillens führen könne.

Wie der Petitionsausschuss schreibt, werde die derzeitige Dauer der Wahlperiode von vier Jahren allgemein als Kompromiss zwischen den genannten Gesichtspunkten angesehen, da die Balance zwischen der Arbeitsfähigkeit des Parlaments und der erforderlichen regelmäßigen Legitimierung durch die Wähler gewahrt bleibe. Derzeit, so heißt es in der Vorlage weiter, seien auch "keine Reformpläne des Bundestags oder seiner Fraktionen bekannt". Auch habe sich der neugewählte Bundestagspräsident Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) in einem Interview mit der Wochenzeitung "Das Parlament" für die Beibehaltung der bisherigen vierjährigen Wahlperiodendauer ausgesprochen.

A South Wales patient died after doctors failed to spot a perforation in his bowel soon enough and he developed Sepsis, an investigation by the Ombudsman has found.

A complaint was made by the sister of Mr Y (anonymised) about the care and treatment provided to the 55-year-old at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr, in April 2015.

The sister, referred to as Ms X, approached the Ombudsman after Cwm Taf University Health Board failed to address her concerns.

Mr Y attended the hospital with severe abdominal pains, was discharged but readmitted within days after being found confused and suffering from hypothermia.

The Ombudsman found the following failings:

•           Sepsis should have been recognised and treated earlier.

•           Steroid psychosis,  which caused Mr Y’s confusion, was not identified promptly causing additional worry for Mr Y and his family.

•           Recognition that Mr Y was experiencing a flare up of severe colitis was slow and there was an unnecessary delay in re-referral to appropriate specialists

•           Opportunities were missed to recognise the seriousness of Mr Y’s condition.

•           There was a delay in Mr Y starting on new medication, and that there was no adequate multi-disciplinary review or explicit review of his abdominal X-ray.

Commenting on the report, Nick Bennett, Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, said:

“My investigation has highlighted a catalogue of serious failings with regards to the care and treatment of Mr Y and sadly we will never know if the outcome would’ve been different had he been treated in the correct manner with surgery taking place sooner.

“This is a tragic injustice for Ms X and I can only hope my investigation brings her some kind of closure.

“I am also concerned that the Health Board did not identify failings earlier when the complaint was originally made.

“A Consultant Surgeon reviewed the medical notes only after my investigation was commenced. This type of poor complaint handling was highlighted in my recent thematic report Ending Groundhog Day, and only adds to the distress to the family during a period of grieving.”

Cwm Taf University Health Board has agreed to all of the Ombudsman’s recommendations including paying Ms X £4,500 for the shortcomings and injustice caused to Mr Y and Ms X.

Parliamentary Ombudsman appointed Secretary General of the Association of the Mediterranean Ombudsman

The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr Anthony C. Mifsud, called upon the President of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Angelo Farrugia to present the Office of the Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2016. During the meeting with the Speaker, the Ombudsman announced that during the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsman in Skopje, Macedonia, he was appointed as Secretary General of the Association. For the past years, since its inception, the Office of the Ombudsman in Malta occupied the post of Treasurer, which now will be amalgamated with the responsibilities of the Secretary General.

2017 – An eventful and momentous year

In his Annual Report the Ombudsman describes the 2017 as an eventful and momentous year and delves into issues of general interest such as the consensus on need for reform to strengthen the country’s institutions and issues related to accountability and good governance.

During 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman received 520 complaints of which 336 were investigated by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, 83 were investigated by the Commissioner for Health, 62 by the Commissioner for Environment and Planning and the remaining 39 were investigated by the Commissioner for Education. The 2017 Annual Report also highlights the initiatives taken by the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Commissioners in their role as defenders of the citizens’ rights.

The full version of the Annual Report can be downloaded from here. Copies can be obtained from the Office of the Ombudsman.