The Dutch National Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children and the Ombudsman for Veterans have today presented their Annual Report 2021 to the House of Representatives. In it, they note that the resignation of the Dutch government in early 2021, the March elections and the long process that followed in forming a government resulted in a year of government silence and official introspection. As a result, many key developments were put on hold. Citizens expect the government to demonstrate leadership.

National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen: “Too little progress was made in putting things right on childcare allowances and in tackling the issues caused by gas exploration in Groningen and Drenthe. There is now an awareness of how serious this situation is. But implementation is proving complicated and is taking too long. We are appealing to the government to show leadership and concern for citizens in setting out the route ahead as we recover from the coronavirus crisis. We also call on the government to make efforts to ensure that coronavirus does not become yet another recovery operation in which confusion and a lack of progress further undermine public confidence in a positive outcome.”

In 2021, the coronavirus restrictions continued to have a significant impact on citizens’ lives. The government became more distant, while at the same time intervening in the lives of citizens, children and veterans by means of restrictions. Because of the need to act quickly, the government failed to properly assess the appropriateness of the restrictions and their effect on the lives of children and adults. In the meantime, the number of people no longer able to participate fully in society grew. All of this made citizens’ lives more complex and further undermined public confidence and trust in the government.

A bespoke approach is no solution to poor policy

Increased trust in government starts with a government that shows itself to be trustworthy, acts properly and puts the perspective of citizens first. And a government that protects the fundamental rights of children and adults. But first and foremost, the government needs to do its work effectively. “We are increasingly hearing that the government should adopt a more bespoke approach. But a bespoke approach is no solution to poor policy. It hides the fact that there are issues with the basic approach, and it is this that needs to be addressed.” The ombudsmen believe it to be essential that rules, agreements and implementation focus fully on citizens: what do they really need and how can this be implemented by means of normal, understandable systems?

Time for concrete action and urgency

“It is now time for the government to take action and address the issues that have long been neglected. A lot of promises have been made and plans drawn up. It is now time for concrete action and urgency. The citizen cannot wait.”

We offer a summary of our Annual Report 2021 in English.

Photo: Jeroen van der Meyde

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Summary Annual Report 2021

We want to make a positive difference to people and public services in Northern Ireland.  We do this by resolving complaints and making recommendations so that mistakes are not repeated. Our new Strategic Plan sets out how we intend to carry out this work.  We will be independent, people-focused and fair.  We will also aim to deliver excellence, with a focus on continuous learning and improvement.

Polly Curtis and Anne Davies have been appointed to the Board of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman with effect from Monday 9 May 2022.  

Polly Curtis is a journalist, author, and media executive. She has worked as a reporter, news editor, and then digital editor at the Guardian before leading HuffPost UK as Editor-In-Chief. Her interest has always been in how the state's powers impact ordinary people and building media models that reach those who are often left out of the news conversation and therefore disenfranchised. Polly served on the Cairncross Review for the future sustainability of high-quality news, has been a visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and was most recently Managing Director of PA Media, the UK's national news agency. 

Anne Davies is a Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Brasenose College. Her research interests include employment law and administrative law. She was Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2015 to 2020 and had a part-time role as an advisor to the Welsh Language Commissioner. She has previously served as an independent member of the Council of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). 

PHSO Chair and Ombudsman Rob Behrens said: 

“Polly and Anne have an abundance of experience that will be vital in providing direction to PHSO as we deliver our new three-year strategy. I am delighted to welcome them to the PHSO Board. I look forward to working with both and making use of their knowledge and talent as we continue to transform PHSO into a first-class complaint-handling service and a modern and vibrant organisation.”  

Working with Monitoring Officers and Standards Committees of local authorities, we want to help councillors maintain the standards of conduct and to meet public expectations by sustaining the highest standards of conduct in public life.

We aim to support proper decision making and the proper use of public resources and to maintain public confidence in local government and in the democratic process itself.

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales is also responsible for considering complaints that members of local authorities, community councils, fire and rescue authorities, national park authorities and police and crime panels in Wales have breached their authority’s Code of Conduct.

We strongly believe that Code of Conduct training is essential to being a good councillor, and we encourage all new councillors to participate in that training.  We also encourage councillors to have a look at the ‘Information for Elected Members’ page on our website. It includes all our resources to help them in their new role, including:

• guidance for councillors on the Model Code of Conduct
• factsheets on different aspects of our Code of Conduct process – including how we determine whether it is in the public interest for us to investigate a complaint
• an explanation of what we do when we get a complaint about an elected member’s conduct
• guidance on how to submit a complaint about a councillor’s conduct.

We will be also adding more video resources to that site shortly.

Michelle Morris, the Public Services Ombudsman, said

“I would like to offer my personal congratulations to all returning Councillors including those new in role and those returning for another term in office. I look forward to working with you and your Officers to support you in maintaining the standards of conduct set out in the Code of Conduct for Councillors.

When you sign your declaration to be a Councillor you are agreeing to abide by the Code and I encourage you all to attend the training offered to you and to access the Guidance and other information on our website.”

If you would like more information about our Code of Conduct work, please contact us on 0300 790 0203 or ask@ombudsman.wales

When 19 May 2022 - 20 May 2022

Where Prague, Czechia

Organised By EEA/Norway Grants

External event

The National Contact Point for EEA/Norway Grants in Czechia and the Financial Mechanism Office of EEA/Norway Grants will bring together all actors engaged in implementing the Roma inclusion and empowerment programme under the Norway Grants 2014-2021 programme.

FRA is an International Partner Organisation. It provides programme advice during the design, preparation and implementation of this programme in Czechia.

The event in Prague runs from 19 to 20 May.