The impact of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman on administrative decision-making in local authority housing departments
Citation
Gill, C. (2012-10) The impact of the Scottish Public
Services Ombudsman on administrative
decision-making in local authority
housing departments, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law.
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.