Consultation

The Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Part 3) required us to consult with others before we created a new set of complaints handling standards for the public sector in Northern Ireland.

The consultation ran from June to September 2021.

It included a suggested Statement of Principles, a draft Model Complaints Handling Procedure, and explained our proposed sector-based approach to support public bodies implement the changes.

The consultation received over 100 responses which we published in a report.  The vast majority of the responses showed widespread support for our plans and for our suggested approach for introducing the changes across the public sector.  

In January 2022 the Northern Ireland Assembly approved our complaints handling Statement of Principles, giving us the go ahead to design new Model Complaints Handling Principles with public bodies.