Question reference: S6W-26916
- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 25 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 1 May 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) regarding how it makes use of section 16 of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002, in order to keep the Scottish Parliament informed of cases where public organisations have failed to comply with the SPSO's recommendations as directed and/or by the due date, which may result in a continued impact on a complainant; what measures it can put in place to support the SPSO with this, and what information it has on any redress or recourse mechanisms that local authorities may be subject to in the event that they do not meet any standards or comply with any recommendations set out by the SPSO.
Answer
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is a Scottish parliamentary supported organisation, and the Scottish Parliament is ultimately responsible for their resourcing and for holding their performance to account.
The SPSO publishes information in their annual report regarding compliance with their recommendations ( https://www.spso.org.uk/annual-report/2022-23.html - see section entitled Performance Analysis, under heading Learning from complaints).
The SPSO's Redress Policy is available online ( https://www.spso.org.uk/sites/spso/files/communications_material/RedressPolicy.pdf ). This policy relates only to redress in relation to direct loss or harm. The SPSO can also make recommendations to listed authorities in relation to service improvement or complaints handling.
The SPSO also has a Support and Intervention policy which sets out its statutory powers and how the SPSO will use them. The policy and policy guide for Scottish public bodies on support and intervention action are both available on the SPSO's website ( https://www.spso.org.uk/support-and-intervention-policy ). The Support and Intervention policy outlines a clear escalation route where issues are not resolved, with the section 16 powers of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 sitting at Level 6 (on a scale of Level 1 to Level 6). The policy also sets out the measures in place and actions the SPSO can take to resolve any compliances issues.