Il Coordinamento Nazionale dei Difensori Civici delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome Italiane è lieto di annunciare  i nuovi Difensori Civici delle Regioni Emilia Romagna e Liguria. In particolare, l’Avv. Guido Giusti è stato eletto come Difensore Civico della Regione Emilia Romagna, mentre il Dott. Francesco Cozzi assumerà il ruolo di Difensore Civico della Regione Liguria.

L’Ufficio di Presidenza del Coordinamento Nazionale desidera congratularsi con entrambi i neo colleghi per il loro nuovo ruolo e il compito che avranno davanti. Questo è un momento di grande importanza e responsabilità, e siamo fiduciosi che la loro esperienza e professionalità saranno fondamentali per contribuire in modo significativo all’efficacia della nostra organizzazione.

I Difensori Civici svolgono un ruolo cruciale nell’assicurare la tutela dei diritti e delle libertà dei cittadini. Rappresentano un importante baluardo nella promozione della trasparenza, dell’equità e della giustizia all’interno delle rispettive regioni. Siamo certi che il lavoro dei nuovi Difensori Civici continui a promuovere questi valori e a migliorare la vita dei cittadini nelle regioni Emilia Romagna e Liguria.

Il Coordinamento Nazionale è pronto a collaborare attivamente con i nuovi Difensori Civici e a offrire il proprio sostegno in tutte le attività a beneficio dei cittadini delle rispettive regioni.

Auguriamo a entrambi un proficuo mandato e con l’occasione ringraziamo e salutiamo con viva amicizia il Dott. Francesco Lalla e la Dott.ssa Carlotta Marù che fino a qualche giorno fa hanno servito i rispettivi uffici della difesa civica della Regione Liguria e della Regione Emilia Romagna.

Marino Fardelli – Presidente e Difensore Civico della Regione Lazio
Antonia Fiordelisi – Vice Presidente e Difensore Civico della Regione Basilicata
Marcello Pecorari – Vice Presidente e Difensore Civico della Regione Umbria

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Housing Ombudsman have launched consultations on a joint Complaint Handling Code.

With the Housing Ombudsman already applying a code, the consultation forms part of it becoming a statutory requirement under the Social Housing Regulation Act. For social landlords, including councils, already under the Complaint Handling Code, there will be few changes with the main provisions of the proposed statutory Code unchanged.

For the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the consultation sees a code being introduced for all local government functions for the first time. For councils who are landlords, this will end the two-tier system with housing management and corporate complaints.

While social landlords have had to meet the obligations within the Code since it was introduced three years ago, under a statutory Code landlords will have to demonstrate they are meeting the requirements of the Code, including submitting their completed self-assessment to the Housing Ombudsman, and the Ombudsman will have new powers under its duty to monitor to hold landlords to account on complaint handling.

The joint Complaint Handling Code is the first time two Ombudsman schemes have worked together on a unified Code and will help raise the standard of complaint handling across housing and local government services.

The consultation will run from 28 September 2023 to 23 November 2023. 

Paul Najsarek, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“The new Code will become the single gold standard for complaint handling in the local government sector. It will allow local councils to be confident they are employing best practice, while making it easier for local people to hold councils and social landlords to account. It will also align complaints about housing management, which are already subject to the Code through the Housing Ombudsman, with other local authority services.

“The quality of complaint handling within an organisation and the willingness to learn from complaints is an essential measure of corporate health. The Code puts complaint handling at the heart of corporate governance in councils, requiring regular reporting of performance allowing for effective scrutiny of service delivery.

“While we are committed to introducing a Complaint Handling Code, we very much want the views of the local government sector to steer its implementation. We have written to Chief Executives of all local councils in England inviting them to respond to the consultations and are also providing a route for the public to comment through our website.”

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said:

“Effective complaint handling is essential for landlords and an indicator of culture and behaviours. The Code helps organisations to get it right – to build relationships with residents, horizon scan and manage risks, promote organisational learning and develop services.

“The original Code was the result of continuous engagement with a working group of landlords drawn from across our membership, together with tenant and professional bodies. This consultation is an opportunity to engage residents and landlords further.

“With a statutory Code there will be a legal duty on landlords to comply with it and we will be able to intervene with a landlord on the Code even when we have not received a complaint.

“However, landlords should not be waiting for the Code to become statutory. It is vital landlords are proactive in seeking to comply with the Code ahead of time. The existing Code will remain a condition of Scheme membership and we will continue to take action where necessary.”

The aim is for the Code to become statutory from 1 April 2024.

Both Ombudsman offices will be hosting webinars with the local government and social landlord sectors during the consultation period, and will be inviting relevant parties directly.

For more information visit the LGSCO's website.

Further information about the Housing Ombudsman's separate consultation can be found on its website.

In April this year, we published our Strategic Plan 2023-2026: A new chapter. To read the Plan, go here.

The Strategic Plan is a high-level document. However, we said at the time that we would produce an annual Business Plan for each year of the Strategic Plan. We explained that that Business Plan would also include the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that we would use to monitor our performance and impact in areas that we can control or influence.

We now publish our Key Performance Indicators and Business Plan Actions for 2023/24. To see this publication, go here.

“Focus on the vulnerable and voiceless” is the message coming from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s latest annual review of adult care services.

Launched today, the Ombudsman’s annual review of Adult Social Care reflects on the investigations the organisation has conducted over the past 12 months across both public and independently-funded care.

In the report, Ombudsman Paul Najsarek is urging leaders to rigorously scrutinise those services provided to people who might otherwise be hidden in society to ensure they are performing well for those who may be unable to speak up for themselves.

The report highlights key cases from the past year, including an autistic man who was not provided with an advocate when assessing the support he needed, in another case a woman was left at risk of falls and burning herself while cooking because the right support was not provided at the right time.

And in another case, more than 300 people in one north western borough were being provided with care calls lasting less than 15 minutes – hardly enough time to provide the dignified care they were assessed as needing.

The review calls on the sector to listen to concerns and complaints – and use this intelligence to drive positive, cost-effective changes.

Now in its tenth year, the 2023 report sees the Ombudsman upholding three-quarters of the investigations it carries out in detail. However, complaints received have levelled off in recent years and the Ombudsman is pressing for care providers to up their game by including details about complaining to LGSCO in their policies and procedures.

The report also highlights areas of adult care where the Ombudsman cannot investigate, for example in daycare centres. It is calling for these ‘accountability gaps’ to be closed by extending its jurisdiction to all settings, thereby allowing a route to redress for people if things go wrong wherever their care is provided. The report also renews the Ombudsman’s call for all adult care providers to be required by law to signpost clients to its service.

Paul Najsarek, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said:

“I urge senior leaders to give voice to the voiceless: those who cannot complain for themselves because they are unsupported, isolated or simply lack the capacity to do so.

“Where these vulnerable people are hidden from view, it is all the more important that leaders scrutinise the services they receive to shine a light on how they perform for the people they are meant to support. Putting people’s lived experiences at the heart of services should ensure they remain person-centred, despite the challenging climate.

“I encourage providers of care – however funded – to focus on the fundamentals: providing good quality, safe services with well-run complaint functions which identify opportunities to improve where challenges arise.”