The impact of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman on administrative decision-making in local authority housing departments

Abstract

Ombudsmen have a dual role: to redress grievances and to improve public administration. While the redress of grievances remains their main focus in the United Kingdom, ombudsmen are increasingly exploring their improvement function. Government policy now also places more emphasis on the idea that ombudsmen should help agencies to get decisions ‘right first time’. Despite these developments, little research has been conducted into ombudsmen’s effectiveness in this area. This article contributes to existing knowledge by reporting the findings of a study investigating the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s impact on administrative decision-making in local authority housing departments.