Ombud schemes

We assist public sector ombudsmen with legal advice at all stages of the complaint life cycle. This includes helping assessment teams to decide whether a particular complaint is within an ombudsman's jurisdiction and should be investigated; advising on casework issues during the investigation phase; and commenting on draft reports prior to them being issued to complainants and bodies in jurisdiction. In some cases we are also able to provide an informal advice line which ombudsmen clients can call to discuss ad hoc queries. Should it be necessary, we act for ombudsmen to robustly defend claims, whether brought by service users or bodies in jurisdiction, in civil proceedings and Judicial Review challenges.

In addition, we run an annual training programme and produce regular alerts to keep clients ahead of current issues. We also provide on-site training seminars to ombudsmen caseworkers on recent developments and 'FAQs' which arise from advice requests we receive.

We have also provided training to local authorities, alongside the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman on maladministration and complaints handling.

As a firm, we have membership with the Ombudsman Association, and members of our team regularly attend meetings of the Association's Legal Interest Group which allows us to keep abreast of developments within the ombudsman world.

Our experience and specialism extends to supporting and training NHS commissioners and providers on the staged requirements of the NHS Complaints Regulations. This includes management of complex, vexatious or habitual complaints and ensuring complaint responses and policies are proportionate and in and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's expectations. Our experts in healthcare law and data protection  compliment and enrich our proficiency in complaint handling.