On April 17 and 18, the Chancellor of Justice hosted the ombudspersons for children from Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. It is a traditional cooperation meeting that provides an opportunity to exchange experiences and good practices with countries with similar historical experiences.

Among other things, the rights of children and young people in sports, the supervision of child protection work, kindergartens, the child's consent, and data protection were discussed in those days.

As part of the meeting, the Ukrainian School was also visited, where the living arrangements of the children who arrived from Ukraine in different countries were discussed. Besides, the guests met with the representatives of the Social Insurance Board and the Police and Border Guard Board and discussed the involvement of children and youngsters with Roger Tibar, a member of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Human Rights, and young people who are drafting children's report for the UN and are participating in the ENOC's project on the role of the ombudspersons for children and child participation.

The meeting of ombudspersons for children of the Baltic countries is an annual tradition that began in 2012 in Tallinn when the Estonian Chancellor of Justice invited the ombudspersons for a meeting for the first time.

In Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the models of the ombudspersons for children are slightly different. In Lithuania, for instance, there is a separate institution of ombudsperson for children, which was established in 2000. While, just like Estonia, Latvia has a general ombudsperson whose competence includes the protection and promotion of children's rights. The Latvian ombuds institution has operated since 2007. Estonia got an ombudsperson for children on March 19, 2011, when the Chancellor of Justice was given the task of protecting and promoting children's rights.

Seit März 2018 gibt es in Bayern einen Bürgerbeauftragten – berufen wird er vom Ministerpräsidenten. Mitte 2020 hat der Forchheimer Landtagsabgeordnete Michael Hofmann die Aufgabe übernommen.

Kurz nach dem fünfjährigen Jubiläum war der Bürgerbeauftragte am 19. April 2023 zu Gast im Ausschuss für Eingaben und Beschwerden des Bayerischen Landtags, dem sogenannten Petitionsausschuss. Der Bürgerbeauftragte, selbst 5 Jahre von 2013 bis 2018 Mitglied des Ausschusses, stellte insbesondere seine Herangehensweise bei den Anliegen der Bürgerinnen und Bürger und die Entwicklung der Fallzahlen dar.

Hofmann ist überzeugt: „Das von der Verfassung garantierte Petitionsrecht und die Institution als Bürgerbeauftragter ergänzen sich hervorragend. Entscheidend ist, dass unsere Demokratie den Menschen verschiedene Anlaufstellen bietet – je nach Problemlage und welche Vorgehensweise von der Bürgerin und dem Bürger als hilfreich angesehen wird.“ Michael Hofmann beschreibt seine Funktion so: „Der Bürgerbeauftragte ist eine Art Lotse. Mir geht es darum, den Menschen Orientierung und Hilfestellung zu bieten, wenn sie diese im Austausch mit Behörden in Bayern brauchen.“ Er will Lösungen für teils komplexe Fragestellungen anbieten, wo immer dies möglich ist. (...)

The Ombudsman, Michelle Morris, welcomed the recent decision by the Standards Committee of Gwynedd Council that the Councillor should be suspended for 1 month, be required to attend training and provide a written apology to the Complainant within 3 weeks.

The Ombudsman report concerned a complaint that the Councillor Louise Hughes behaved inappropriately when she responded in German to correspondence she received in Welsh.

The Standards Committee concluded that the Councillor Louise Hughes had breached paragraphs 4(a), 4(b) and 6(1)(a) of the Code of Conduct. Accordingly, the Standards Committee decided that the Councillor Louise Hughes should be suspended for 1 month, be required to attend training and provide a written apology to the Complainant within 3 weeks.  The Standards Committee also recommended for the Council to consider assisting Members when they receive correspondence in a language they do not understand, either by utilising its own staff or by sign-posting the Member to a relevant translation service provider.

As the purpose of the ethical standards framework in Wales is to promote high standards for councillors and to maintain public confidence in local democracy, the Ombudsman welcomed the decision to suspend the Councillor and thanked the members of the Standards Committee for their careful consideration of the case.

Notes 

The Local Government Act 2000 provides us with the statutory powers to investigate allegations that members of local authorities in Wales have breached their Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct for elected members is intended to maintain high standards in public life and includes the requirement that elected members should not bring their authority or their office as a councillor into disrepute.

Where our investigation finds that the evidence suggests that a member has breached the Code of Conduct and further action is required in the public interest, we may refer the matter to either the Adjudication Panel for Wales or a local Standards Committee for consideration.

Where the Adjudication Panel for Wales decides that a member has breached the Code of Conduct it may suspend a member from office for up to 12 months or disqualify the member from holding office for up to 5 years.

Where a Standards Committee decides that a member has breached the Code of Conduct it may suspend a member from office for up to 6 months or issue the member with a censure.  Where a member subject to a referral to a Standards Committee no longer holds office as a member the standards committee may only censure the member.

Un ciudadano planteó el Ararteko los diversos problemas vinculados a la atención social y comunitaria que afectan a las personas con enfermedad mental en Bizkaia. Exponía que había un retraso en la valoración y en la adjudicación de los recursos acordados en el plan individual de atención. Ello afectaba tanto al servicio foral de dependencia (del que derivan los servicios para personas con discapacidad) como al de inclusión, ambos integrantes del Sistema Vasco de Servicios Sociales.

En su opinión ello estaba conllevando que la estancia en los hospitales se prolongara de manera innecesaria, con independencia de las necesidades derivadas de la sintomatología psicopatológica. Añadía que la ausencia de plazas suficientes en centros residenciales suponía la incorporación a una lista de espera que puede demorarse años. Una situación que no favorece la evolución de su salud mental ni de su proceso de inclusión social. 
También hacía referencia a las necesidades de las personas con enfermedad mental de interacción social para alcanzar una autonomía y a las dificultades para la obtención de ingresos propios.

El Ararteko solicitó información al Departamento de Acción Social y al Departamento de Empleo, Inserción Social e Igualdad de la Diputación Foral de Bizkaia, por ser competentes en la valoración de la dependencia y la discapacidad y de la exclusión, respectivamente, y en la asignación de plazas en recursos residenciales. Asimismo, solicitó la colaboración del Departamento de Trabajo y Empleo del Gobierno Vasco respecto a las dificultades para el acceso a prestaciones económicas de renta de garantía de ingresos (RGI) y prestación complementaria de vivienda (PCV) por parte de las personas a las que se les han extinguido las prestaciones. 

Por parte de los departamentos citados se ha recibido una información exhaustiva que, tras analizarla, lleva al Ararteko a una serie de conclusiones, que se resumen en la necesidad de seguir avanzando en una atención social y sanitaria adecuada y diversa según las necesidades que presentan las personas con discapacidad, problemas de salud mental y en riesgo o situación de exclusión social, evitando que las personas con problemas de salud mental y con dificultades para la interacción social y trastornos de conducta se queden sin atención social y sanitaria y ello dé lugar a un agravamiento de su situación de exclusión social y de su salud física y mental. 

RESOLUCIÓN

Vitoria-Gasteiz, 19 de abril de 2023