Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002

91. Paragraph 1(2) of schedule 2 adds the Commissioner to the list of authorities in schedule 2 of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”). The effect is to:

• make the Commissioner open to investigation by the Ombudsman (see section 5 of the 2002 Act),

• oblige the Commissioner to have a complaints handling procedure that complies with the statement of principles published by the ombudsman under section 16A of the 2002 Act,

• permit the Commissioner to be made subject to the further requirement to have a complaints handling procedure that complies with a model complaints handling procedure prepared by the ombudsman, per sections 16B and 16C of the 2002 Act.

92. Paragraph 1(3) of schedule 2 adds the Commissioner to the list of authorities in schedule 5 of the 2002 Act with which the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman may share information it holds where that information may be of use for the purposes of the Commissioner’s functions. This is an exception to the general rule in section 19 of the 2002 Act which permits the Ombudsman to use information held by it only for the purposes of its own work.