Ombudsman Anniversary Coin And Manchester Meeting
Commemorative Coin Issued To Mark Ombudsman Anniversary
The Public Services Ombudsman has announced that a £5 legal tender commemorative coin has been issued in Gibraltar to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the office of the Ombudsman.
Public Services Ombudsman Group meeting held in Manchester on 28th January
The Public Services Ombudsman Group (“PSOG”) held its latest meeting in Manchester on 28th January. The meeting was hosted and chaired by the United Kingdom Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Other Public Services Ombudsmen who attended the meeting included the Ombudsman for the Republic of Ireland; the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Public Services Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; the Ombudsman for Scotland; the Ombudsman for Wales; the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman; and the United Kingdom Housing Ombudsman.
PSOG meetings provide Public Services Ombudsmen with a forum for the exchange of ideas at first hand and an opportunity to discuss areas of common interest. The PSOG meetings also enable Ombudsmen to provide each other with updates on the work carried out in their respective countries and offices.
Among the topics discussed at this meeting were the Venice Principles and Own Motion Investigations.
At the meeting, the Ombudsman for Gibraltar took the opportunity to present the other UK Ombudsmen with a Gibraltar Public Services Ombudsman 20th Anniversary commemorative legal tender coin.
The Venice Principles are a set of internationally accepted standards for the proper functioning and independence of Public Services Ombudsmen.
The full text of the Venice Principles can be downloaded from the Gibraltar Public Services Ombudsman’s website at www.ombudsman.org.gi.
Own Motion Investigations
On 20th December 2019, the Gibraltar Parliament passed a Resolution providing for the Public Services Ombudsman Act 1998 to be reviewed in order to enable the Office of the Public Services Ombudsman to launch investigations of its own motion. This Parliamentary Resolution has been warmly welcomed by the Ombudsman.
The office of the Ombudsman says that the ability of the Ombudsman to investigate issues of maladministration, without having to rely on receiving a written complaint from the public, “will certainly contribute to the delivery of administrative justice in Gibraltar.”
