Ombudsman’s research on school supplies

In June and July, the Ombudsman’s Office asked students’ parents about what school supplies municipal schools and kindergartens ask parents to purchase for children’s learning needs. While the Ombudsman explained that an educational establishment has the right to ask wear a school form, its absence must not restrict child’s right to education. During the investigation, the Ombudsman drew public attention to parents’ councils and what they can decide, as well as tried to find answers to whether gifts for teachers should be supported. The Ombudsman also explained whether the so-called fund money is mandatory in schools and kindergartens, for example, to purchase stationery, for the improvement of classrooms or for the repair of piano.

Children with mental health problems from Valmiera can finally study in their municipality

After involvement of the Ombudsman there is finally a school – Valmiera Gaujas krasta Secondary School – development centre, where children with mental health disorders will be able to acquire basic education. This means that students with mental health problems from Valmiera municipality, who had so far been forced to live and study outside their municipality, will be able to study closer to home.

Riga weeds out high school students

Riga municipality regulations on enrolment of pupils in the 10th grade of secondary schools restrict the possibilities for young people to continue their studies, as the municipality has stricter requirements than permitted by law. Thus, a part of the students will be denied the opportunity to acquire general secondary education in municipal educational institutions of Riga State city.

The actions of Ogre municipality do not comply with the principle of good governance

The Ombudsman in a verification procedure found a breach in the principle of good governance when Ogre Municipality government and Ogre Municipality Culture Centre, without clear and motivated arguments, prevented the participation of a musician in the city’s festivals, as well as publicly solved internal employee communication issues.

Pedagogical Medical Commission as a child’s support for growth, not a judgment for life

The Ombudsman encourages parents whose children are studying at a special education programme or who have signals that the child would need such a program to timely undergo pedagogical medical commissions, so that the child can gain support and study in accordance with his or her abilities already beginning from September.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has updated its guidance to planning practitioners ‘Not in My Backyard’

The special report, originally published in 2014, offers advice and guidance to people who work in councils’ planning function, along with suggested questions local councillors can use to scrutinise their own authority’s performance.

The popular report includes updated case studies to highlight lessons that can be learned from planning complaints.

It also helps local people to understand their council’s role – and that of the ombudsman – in the planning process.

On August 1, 2022 Alexander Oerke was appointed as the first Ombudsman for complaints against the administration and the police of Berlin.

After his first year in office, he is giving a short report. Building up a completely new agency from scratch so to speak was the biggest challenge. Rooms, technical equipment and, most important, skilled personnel had to be acquired. That this process moved rather smoothly was only possible by the help of other departments and agencies who generously gave their support.

Making the public aware of the Ombudsman’s office, his tasks and responsibilities was and is highly important. By and by more and more citizens make use of their right to bring their grievances before the Ombudsman. In 2023 we received already more than 230 complaints.

Grievances are quite diverse. They concern for example, problems with the registry office, the naturalization services, the granting of financial benefits (basic income support and housing subsidies) and the work of the public order offices. In many cases citizens complain about authorities not being available to them or not responding to their requests. These people quite rightly feel they are not taken seriously, and so they are losing confidence in the state. That is the reason why it is so important to me and my employees to contact the relevant authorities as unbureaucratically and as quickly as possible to get problems solved swiftly.

Unfortunately, the general tendency seems to be that in many areas administrative procedures are getting more laboriously and official acts and services more time consuming. The fulfilment of public duties has also become more complex. At the same time, the public sector is faced with the problem of finding sufficient suitable personnel. Therefore, it is important to have a critical look at customary working methods and attitudes. Critical inquiries by the Ombudsman can help in this process. That is why I encourage every citizen to inform me about problems encountered when dealing with the administration.

A well-functioning administration strengthens trust in the community and in democracy as a whole. This trust is even more important in the relationship between citizens and the police. People in the city of Berlin must be able to trust their police. And the police, in return, is depending on this trust in order to do their job well. That is why it is so important that misdemeanour by police officers should be addressed and discussed openly. Fortunately, Berlin’s police leadership generally shares this opinion. However, while examining police matters I often experience limitations as I am denied access to important files when criminal investigations are under way.

I am aware that not every administrational office is happy when questions are asked or an official statement is requested by the Ombudsman. Who likes to listen to criticism anyway? For this reason, in particular, I would like to inform the employees in the Berlin administration that I understand when a faster way of dealing with a matter is hindered by staff shortages. I am therefore holding discussions with the district mayors and other heads of the Berlin administration to promote good cooperation. I think we all have a common goal, namely that the people of Berlin should be content with their public services and should feel that their problems and concerns are in good hands. And I hope that more employees in the public sector will receive an email like the one we received from a complainant saying: "I would like to thank you very sincerely; your great commitment has borne fruit. I am so thrilled that I am toying with the idea of contacting you in another matter."

Alexander Oerke

Ombudsman of Berlin (Germany)

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Video is available here: https://btvnovinite.bg/predavania/tazi-sutrin/ombudsmanat-ima-bjalo-petno-v-nk-njama-tekst-za-inkriminirane-na-iztezanija-i-zhestokost.html

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva submits to the National Assembly a legislative proposal for the criminalisation in the Criminal Code (CrC) of offences involving the intentional infliction of physical or mental pain or suffering that degrades human dignity. She announced this today in the programme “This Morning” on bTV in connection with the Stara Zagora case, where an 18-year-old girl was cut with a dummy knife by a man and as a result of the 24 injuries inflicted she received 400 stitches.

The Ombudsman has been pushing for years to drop the systematic character in the Criminal Code, where an abuser can be punished more severely only after three consecutive reports have been made by the victim.

According to Prof. Kovacheva, changes are necessary because there is a "white spot", referring to cases of intentional infliction of severe violence, which does not kill, but crushes human dignity. According to her, there is no text in the Criminal Code criminalising torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

“The Domestic Violence Act was passed. The fact is that there are quite serious trade-offs inside. Partnerships remained outside the hypothesis of the law. Cases like those in an intimate relationship continue to be unpunished under the hypothesis of domestic violence,” emphasized Prof. Diana Kovacheva.

She also calls for a definition of violence – physical, psychological, economic –  as well as for mandatory therapy for perpetrators, mandatory training of police officers to respond with understanding to the problem of the victim.