- Northern Ireland Ombudsman
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The Northern Ireland Ombudsman combines two official offices, the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints.
The Office of the Northern Ireland Ombudsman was established in 1969, but its current governing statutes are the Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and the Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. His role is to deal with complaints of maladministration by government and public bodies in Northern Ireland. Unlike the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, he has no role in investigating individual ethical conduct by councillors.
The Ombudsman is appointed by the Queen. The current Ombudsman, holding both offices, is Tom Frawley CBE, who was appointed in 2000.[1]
Contents
Bodies the Ombudsman may investigate[2]
As Assembly Ombudsman the Ombudsman may investigate:
- Northern Ireland Government Departments
- Government agencies and other government organizations
- The Administrative functions of tribunals
As Commissioner for Complaints the Ombudsman may investigate:
- Local councils
- Education and library boards
- Harbour authorities
- Health and social services boards
- Health and Social Services Councils and Trusts
- Special Health and Social Services Agencies
- The Housing Executive
- Registered Housing Associations
- Certain other public bodies listed in the Order
By the Commissioner for Complaints (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, his functions include complaints about doctors, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists providing family health services and complaints by other health care professionals in the Health and Personal Social Services. This includes complaints about the exercise of clinical judgement by health care professionals.
See also
- Standards Board for England
- Adjudication Panel for England
- Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000
- Standards Commission for Scotland
- Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
- Commissioner for Children and Young People, Northern Ireland
References
- ^ Northern Ireland Ombudsman
- ^ Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Order 1996
External links
Categories:- Ombudsmen in Northern Ireland
- Local government in Northern Ireland
- Organisations based in Northern Ireland
- Ombudsmen in the United Kingdom
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