Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019

Special reports

59 Circumstances in which special reports may be prepared

(1) The Ombudsman may prepare a special report under section 60 if case 1, 2 or 3 applies.

(2) Case 1 applies if—

(a) the Ombudsman has concluded in an investigation report that any person has sustained, or is likely to sustain, injustice or hardship as a result of the matter investigated, and

(b) one of the circumstances in subsection (3) applies.

(3) The circumstances are that—

(a) the Ombudsman has not received the notification required under section 57 before the end of the period permitted under that section;

(b) the Ombudsman has received that notification but is not satisfied with—

(i) the action which the provider has taken or proposes to take, or

(ii) the period before the end of which the provider proposes to have taken that action;

(c) the Ombudsman has received that notification but is not satisfied that the provider has, before the end of the permitted period, taken the action that the provider proposed to take.

(4) In subsection (3)(c) “the permitted period” means—

(a) the period referred to in section 57(2)(b), or

(b) a longer period specified by the Ombudsman in writing (if any).

(5) Case 2 applies if—

(a) the Ombudsman has prepared a report under section 58 by virtue of subsection (2) of that section, and

(b) the Ombudsman is not satisfied that the provider has implemented the Ombudsman’s recommendations before the end of the permitted period.

(6) In subsection (5)(b) “the permitted period” means—

(a) the period referred to in section 58(2)(b), or

(b) a longer period specified by the Ombudsman in writing (if any).

(7) Case 3 applies if—

(a) a matter (which the Ombudsman is entitled to investigate) in respect of a provider has been resolved,

(b) in resolving the matter, the Ombudsman has concluded that any person has sustained, or is likely to sustain, injustice or hardship as a result of the matter,

(c) the provider has agreed to take particular action before the end of a particular period, and

(d) the Ombudsman is not satisfied that the provider has taken that action before the end of the permitted period.

(8) In subsection (7)(d) “the permitted period” means—

(a) the period referred to in subsection (7)(c), or

(b) a longer period specified by the Ombudsman in writing (if any).

60 Special reports

(1) A special report must—

(a) set out the facts which entitle the Ombudsman to prepare the special report (that is, the facts on the basis of which case 1, 2 or 3 of section 59 applies), and

(b) make such recommendations as the Ombudsman thinks fit as to the action which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, should be taken—

(i) to remedy or prevent the injustice or hardship to the person, and

(ii) to prevent similar injustice or hardship being caused to any person in the future.

(2) If the special report is prepared because case 1 of section 59 applies, the Ombudsman must send a copy of the report to each person to whom a copy of the section 55 report was sent under section 55(2)(b).

(3) If the special report is prepared because case 2 or 3 of section 59 applies, the Ombudsman must send a copy of the report to—

(a) if the investigation relates to a complaint, the person who made the complaint;

(b) the provider to whom the report relates.

(4) The Ombudsman may send a copy of a special report to any other persons the Ombudsman thinks appropriate.

(5) The Ombudsman may publish a special report.

(6) The Ombudsman may supply a copy of a published special report, or a part of such a report, to any person who requests it.

(7) The Ombudsman may charge a reasonable fee for supplying a copy of a special report, or part of such a report, under subsection (6).

(8) The following information must not be included in a version of a special report sent to a person under subsection (2), (3) or (4) or published under subsection (5)—

(a) the name of any person other than the provider in respect of whom the report was made;

(b) information which, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, is likely to identify any such person and which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, can be omitted without impairing the effectiveness of the special report.

(9) Subsection (8) does not apply if, after taking account of the interests of the person aggrieved (if any) and any other persons the Ombudsman thinks appropriate, the Ombudsman considers that it would be in the public interest to include that information in that version of the special report.

61 Further publicity for special reports

(1) The Ombudsman may arrange for a notice about a special report to be published—

(a) in one or more newspapers, or

(b) by means of broadcast or other electronic media.

(2) The notice may, for example—

(a) provide a summary of the Ombudsman’s findings,

(b) specify an address or addresses at which a copy of the published report can be inspected during ordinary office hours and from which a copy of that report (or part of that report) may be obtained, and

(c) specify a website address at which a copy of the published report can be viewed.

(3) The provider to whom the report relates must, if required to do so by the Ombudsman, reimburse the Ombudsman for the reasonable costs of arranging the publication of the notice.

(4) In deciding whether to make arrangements under subsection (1), the Ombudsman must take into account—

(a) the public interest,

(b) the interests of the person aggrieved (if any), and

(c) the interests of any other person the Ombudsman thinks appropriate.