n terms of Article 22(4) of the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman, Mr. Anthony C. Mifsud, and the Commissioner for Environment and Planning, Perit Alan Saliba, have sent to the House of Representatives the Final Opinion concerning a complaint alleging misreporting by a Planning Authority Case Officer on a development application in Xewkija.

Case Summary

The Office of the Ombudsman received a complaint alleging misreporting or poor reporting by case officers leading to poor decisions by the Planning Commission. The Ombudsman referred the case to the Commissioner of Environment and Planning for investigation.

Following the investigation of the allegations made by the complainant, the Commissioner concluded that in the absence of planning reasons justifying the overturning by the Planning Commission of the recommendation by the Executive Chairperson in line with Article 10 of the second schedule of the Development Planning Act, there is a strong case for the application of Article 80 of the same Act due to an error on the face of the record by the Planning Commission.  Therefore, the Commissioner recommended that the relative documents approved in the original permit should be replaced with those in the minor amendment permit.

Outcome

The Planning Authority, through its Internal Audit Office, informed the Commissioner that it was not in agreement with his recommendations. Therefore, the Case was referred to the Prime Minister in September 2022. Since no action has been taken, the Ombudsman and the Commissioner sent the report to the attention of the House of Representatives.

Documents:

02.06.2022 – Final Opinion 

27.06.2022 – Reaction from the Planning Authority

16.09.2022 – Letter to the Prime Minister

20.10.2022 – Letter to the Speaker of the House 

Venerdì 2 Dicembre 2022 è svolto a Napoli, presso Palazzo Salerno, un prezioso momento di confronto che ha avuto come tema il rafforzamento della Difesa Civica e degli Organismi di Garanzia in Italia. L’evento è stato promosso dalla Conferenza delle Assemblee Legislative Regionali per avviare un percorso di approfondimento sui temi della difesa civica e degli organismi di garanzia in Italia e in Europa. Il Presidente On. Gennaro Oliviero, Presidente del Consiglio regionale della Campania, ha introdotto i lavori tracciando un percorso sui temi proposti.
Il Difensore Civico della Regione Molise, Prof.ssa Paola Matteo, ha portato i saluti del Dott. Marino Fardelli Presidente del Coordinamento dei Difensori Civici delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome Italiane, rappresentando il quadro attuale su  ruolo e funzioni del Difensore Civico e ha auspicato un completamento della rete regionale dei difensori civici e il rafforzamento della figura nazionale. Sia il Coordinatore della Conferenza dei Presidenti delle Assemblee legislative delle Regioni e delle Province autonome sia gli altri Presidenti dei Consigli regionali intervenuti nel dibattito hanno raccolto i vari spunti, per riconoscere la necessità di valorizzare queste figure che hanno un ruolo di garanzia fondamentale nei vari territori a beneficio dei cittadini.

On 1 December 2022, Dr. Ákos Kozma, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary, visited the "Patrónus" House in Gödöllő, which provides full care for young people with autism.
 

The group of visitors was welcomed by Ildikó Németh, the managing director, and Krisztina Jádi, the head of the institution, who explained the operation of the nursing home.
The "Patrónus" House in Gödöllő provides full care for twelve young people with autism who require full time care and support.

“Both the overall system for protecting human rights, and the rights of specific groups, are currently under pressure in the United Kingdom (UK). The authorities should spare no effort to reverse this trend”, warns today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, while releasing the report following her visit to the UK in June 2022.

The report focuses on the overall human rights landscape in the UK, children’s rights, and specific human rights issues relating to Northern Ireland.

“The report reflects the anxiety about the direction of human rights protection in the UK that I encountered during my visit. This anxiety is fed by what appears to be an increasingly antagonistic attitude towards human rights by the UK government, and especially by recent and proposed changes to laws and policies”, she observes.

Most prominent among these is the proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act and to replace it with a Bill of Rights. The Commissioner underlines that this step would weaken rather than strengthen human rights in the UK, including by encouraging divergence between the interpretation of human rights by domestic courts and by the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, Commissioner Mijatović is concerned about the impact of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, especially its chilling effect on the right to peaceful assembly, which will be worsened if the Public Order Bill is adopted. The Commissioner also highlights a significant regression in the observance of the UK’s international obligations to uphold the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, including through the expansion of inadmissibility rules for asylum claims, the pursuit of removals to Rwanda, and the criminalisation of asylum seekers arriving irregularly. She furthermore calls for steps to counter the toxic public discourse towards trans persons, which risks reversing the progress made in the UK in combating discrimination against LGBTI people. Finally, the Commissioner reiterates her call on the UK government not to allow Julian Assange’s extradition, due to the impact this step would have on media freedom more generally.

To better protect children’s rights, the Commissioner calls for urgent measures to combat child poverty, including by developing comprehensive strategies and establishing binding targets, as well as by addressing structural elements of the welfare and benefits system. Specific steps also need to be taken to tackle food insecurity among children, especially by working towards the universal provision of free school meals, and to realise their right to adequate housing. Other measures to be taken to better protect children’s rights comprise reviewing the use of stop and search powers against children, including the practice of strip-searching, raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to bring it in line with international standards, and ensuring that 16- and 17-year-olds can fully benefit from child-friendly justice. Steps should also be taken to build on good practices to promote the participation of children in decision-making, including by lowering the voting age where applicable.

As regards Northern Ireland, the UK government should consider withdrawing the Legacy Bill in view of the widespread opposition in Northern Ireland and the serious issues of compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights it raises. The Commissioner stresses: “Any further steps on legacy must place the rights and needs of victims at its heart.” She also calls for steps to be taken to enhance overall human rights protection in Northern Ireland, including by providing adequate resources to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission so that it can carry out its functions fully. The Commissioner calls for steps to protect journalists, as well as other groups at risk, in the light of continuing threats against them. She underlines that there can be no impunity for the murders of journalists, recalling the cases of Martin O’Hagan and Lyra McKee. Tackling the widespread segregation in the Northern Ireland education system, including by significantly expanding the number of integrated schools, is another crucial step to move forward as a society. The Commissioner also stresses that adequate and sustained funding of abortion services in Northern Ireland is essential to safeguard women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

• Read the Commissioner's report on the United Kingdom following her visit in June 2022

Redcar and Cleveland Council failed to provide respite care for the family of a boy with complex special educational needs which include Autism, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The mother of the boy, who herself has Autism and other medical conditions, complained that the council failed to provide the respite care it agreed they were entitled to, even when she was in hospital.

The boy had three-to-one overnight care until April 2020, when his provider ended its package following an incident with the boy. In July that year the council agreed to increase the amount of overnight provision to 74 nights per year, via a different specialist service. However, the provider suspended its service the same month because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The only alternative the council could offer was a provider that would care for the boy in the family home, but the mother had concerns about the level of care and support it could offer.

At one point, the mother had to go into hospital for surgery, and the council failed to provide any respite when she was discharged. Shortly after, the mother was injured by the child and had to return to hospital.

Overnight care was not provided to the family until June 2021. But in August that year, the mother told the council she could not cope with her son’s level of need, and the next month the respite was cancelled because of staff sickness.

In July of this year, the boy started a full-time residential placement, but this has since fallen through as it was felt this could not meet the boy’s needs. The boy remains a ‘looked after child’, and the council is proactively seeking a new placement for him.

The family complained to the Ombudsman after first going through the council’s own complaints process. The Ombudsman’s investigation found fault with council’s failure to provide overnight respite services for the family. It also found the council did not consider the family’s complaint about discrimination properly.

The Ombudsman has also found the council did not have due regard to the family’s right to enjoy a family life.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“This family – and the mother in particular – have experienced  significant stress and strain because of the council’s failure to put in place the respite support they so clearly needed.

“While I appreciate the difficulties the council faced sourcing appropriate support during the height of the pandemic, it still had a legal duty to provide the agreed care.

“I’m pleased the council has accepted my recommendations, and hope the new respite facility it is creating will ensure other families are not left in a similar position in future.”

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 family and pay them a combined £6,100 for the distress caused and to make up for the child’s missed opportunities.

It will also proactively seek a new residential placement for the child as soon as possible.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will provide the Ombudsman with clarification of when a new respite facility will be available to provide respite care, and the steps it has taken to ensure this is available as soon as possible.