THE Chief Minister wants to review the government’s internal complaints process before committing to setting up a public services ombudsperson role following concerns about cost.
Deputy Lyndon Farnham recently told the States Assembly he wanted to address underlying issues within the public sector complaints system and gather input from Islanders to ensure service improvement and cost-effectiveness.
The approach comes in light of concerns about the cost of employing an ombudsperson to resolve complaints about public services.
The idea of appointing an ombudsperson was suggested as long ago as 2000 in the Clothier Report and was finally agreed to by the States more than six years ago, but work was delayed by the pandemic.
However, in 2022, the government unveiled plans to establish an independent public services ombudsperson, with then Chief Minister Deputy Kristina Moore submitting instructions for the drafting of new legislation as part of the Council of Ministers’ 100 Day Plan.
She said that the role would address grievances stemming from administrative actions, decisions, omissions or failures within specified bodies in Jersey – but it never came into force. Deputy Farnham has now said that the cost of implementing the ombudsperson role would surpass the budget allocated in the previous government plan.
The role would help to resolve complaints about administrative actions, decisions or omissions, or failures to act, which have resulted in alleged injustice or hardship, by specified bodies in Jersey.
He added: “We’re not looking to kill off the proposition which was approved by the Assembly.
“If we did seek to change things we would probably come back to the Assembly.
“It’s worth doing a bit of extra work to see if we can find a better balance between what we have and going to the full service of an ombudsperson, which would be costly.
“We do respect past decisions of the Assembly and we’ve been bringing whatever we decide back to the Assembly if it doesn’t align with the original decision.”
Guernsey has also been considering establishing an independent office to handle complaints against the public sector, although concerns have also been raised about the expense of such a role and the need for further review.
