JERSEY’s “toothless” complaints body lacks credibility and should be replaced with a ‘Jersey Public Services Ombudsperson’ to handle the final stage of grievances as quickly as possible, an official report has recommended.
A review led by Assistant Minister Moz Scott has concluded that the current States of Jersey Complaints Panel – a group of independent assessors made up of members of the community who provide the service on a voluntary basis – is “well organised” and “low cost”, but has processes which “fall materially short of the standards typically associated with an ombud scheme”.
As a consequence, it adds, “the processes have lost credibility while supporting a narrative that the main obstacle to the panel having its recommendations accepted by ministers is a lack of ‘teeth’”.
One such example came recently, when Environment Minister Steve Luce and his officers declined to attend a hearing regarding a town resident’s complaint that his department had failed to take her concerns about alleged noise from two electricity sub-stations near her home seriously.
The review recommends that a JPSO “should be established as a matter of priority to ensure that final-stage complaints are handled fairly, with optimal confidence of all parties in its processes, and to drive continuous public-service improvement”.
It adds that the new body should have its own legal framework and lead a coordinated effort to “ensure every service provider publishes clear and accessible codes of conduct, service standards, and complaint-handling information.
The Council of Ministers thanked Deputy Scott for the report, which it said was “a helpful contribution to the debate”.
Setting up a public services ombudsperson was first recommended 26 years ago in the landmark Clothier review, which led to the introduction of ministerial government.
