OFFICE UPDATE – January 2007

Policies and Procedures

THE OMBUDSMAN’S JURISDICTION – There have been no changes to the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction since the last Update.

OFFICE MANUAL – Three Amendment Notes have been issued since the last Update:

Ø             Amendment Note 6/06 – Amended Section B15 (Gifts and Hospitality Policy) and introduced a new Section B18 (Business Continuity Plan).

Ø             Amendment Note 7/06 – Introduced a new Section B19 (Notification of Individuals on CHAS). In line with this new procedure, if you are aware of any existing, or indeed previous, complainant(s) who you believe should be notified on CHAS, you should inform the Director of Corporate Services as soon as possible.

Ø             Amendment Note 8/06 – Introduced an amended Section B3 (Health and Safety Policy Statement) and a new Appendix B to Section B (Health and Safety Manual). If you have not already done so, please return you tear-off receipt for this Amendment Note to Lindsay as soon as possible.

HEALTH & SAFETY – Two very important training courses will be held during January:-

Ø             Fire Safety Awareness – Wednesday 24^th; Conference Room; 9:30-10:45 or 11:00-12:15

Ø             Health & Safety Awareness – Thursday 26^th; Conference Room; 10:30-12:30 or 2:00-4:00

Both of these training courses are required for all staff under law. Therefore, if you have not already done so, please let Lindsay know which session you prefer as soon as possible. If you are unable to attend please let Lindsay know and he will arrange an alternative date through DFP.

Information Technology

FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED IN RELATION TO A CLOSED CASE – I thought I should clarify how such circumstances should be treated on CHAS as there appears to be some confusion within the Office. There are 3 possible courses of action:

Ø             Where the complainant is seeking something relatively straightforward or minor (eg: clarification; return of documents, etc) any papers should simply be attached to the closed file and the closed CHAS record (in history). There is no necessity to change the ‘status’ of the case in CHAS.

Ø             Where the complainant is questioning the Office’s final decision on their case but there is no new evidence to justify formally re-opening the case the CHAS record should have a comeback opened. This will allow the Office to get the necessary credit for work carried out and, in practical terms, will move the case into the Investigating Officer’s ‘live’ CHAS workspace, thus making it easier to work on the case.

Ø             Where the Ombudsman decides that the complainant has provided new evidence which warrants the re-opening of the original investigation the case will be re-opened (by a CHAS Manager only) on CHAS. A case can only be re-opened at the request of the Ombudsman.

Staffing and Personnel

PATRICIA GIBSON – Congratulations to Patricia who received her OBE from the Queen in November 2006

HELEN MALLON – As I am sure you are all aware Helen retired on 31 December 2006. We all wish her well in her retirement.

DIRECTOR OF INVESTIGATIONS – Ten people applied for the Director of Investigations Interchange Competition. The written exercise has now been completed and the four who performed most effectively will be invited to the Assessment Centre and interview stage which is being held in the Office on the 18^th and 19^th January.

Performance

MONTHLY STATISTICS - During December 2006 we received 29 written complaints (13 CC, 8 AO, 7 HC & 1 O/J). This compares with 62 in November 2006 and 42 in December 2005. The total for the 2006/07 reporting year is 463 written complaints received, compared to 460 for the comparable period in the 2005/06 reporting year.

CASE TURNAROUND TIMES – Average case turnaround times (to the nearest number of weeks) for the reporting year to date are as follows:

Of the 193 Stage 3 & 4 cases cleared to date in 2006/07:

Ø      89 (46%) were within 3 months of receipt

Ø      24 (12%) were within 3-6 months of receipt

Ø      22 (11%) were within 6-9 months of receipt

Ø      35 (18%) was within 9-12 months of receipt

Ø      17 (9%) were within 12-18 months of receipt

Ø      2 (1%) were within 18-24 months of receipt

Ø      4 (2%) were more than 24 months of receipt

MISCELLANEOUS

APPENDIX A – Lists the consultation documents received by the Office since the last Update.

If you would like further information on any of the above, or have information that you would like to have included in next month’s update, don’t hesitate to contact either Lindsay or me.

John MacQuarrie

9 January 2007

APPENDIX A

The following consultation documents were received by the Office since the last Update:

Belfast City Centre Northwest Quarter Part Two – Baseline Regeneration Issues Report        (DSD)

Proposal for a draft Order in Council – The Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2007            (DARD)

Miscellaneous Amendments to the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (NI) 2003      (DOE)

Options for Implementation of the Environmental Liability Directive       (DOE)

Draft Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) (NI) Order 2007           (DSD)

Review of the HPSS Superannuation Scheme         (DHSSPS)

Draft Regulations on the Air Quality Standards Regulations (NI) 2007    (DOE)

Proposals to Revise the Fees for Road Freight and Passenger Operator Licences          (DVLNI)

Guidance on Matters to be Taken into Account in Determining Questions Relating to the Definition of Disability            (OFMDFM)

Responsibility and Cost Sharing for Animal Health and Welfare: Principles        (DARD)

The General Grant (Specified Bodies) Regulations (NI) 2007       (DOE)

Review of the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations and the UK Management Plan for Exports and Imports of Waste         (DOE)

Betting and Gaming Law:  Proposed Changes Including Relaxation of Sunday Restrictions      (DSD)

Disclosure of Death Registration Information         (NISRA)

Should you wish to have sight of any of these documents please contact Lindsay.