Section 12: Decisions not to investigate or to discontinue investigation
41.Section 12(1) provides that the Ombudsman must prepare a statement of reasons in relation to any decision by him/her not to begin or to discontinue an investigation. This includes the situation where, under section 3, the Ombudsman has resolved a complaint and therefore decided not to undertake an investigation. Under section 12(2), the Ombudsman must send a copy of that statement to:
the person who made the complaint to him/her; and
the listed authority to which the complaint relates.
42.Under section 12(3), the Ombudsman may send a copy of the statement to any other person.
43.The Ombudsman may publish such a statement if the requirements of section 12(4) are met. The Ombudsman may only publish such a statement if he/she considers that it is in the public interest to do so. In reaching his/her view, the Ombudsman must take account of the interests of the person aggrieved and any other persons he/she thinks appropriate.
44.Section 12(7) and (8) provides that when the Ombudsman prepares a statement that:
names any person (other than the listed authority concerned); or
includes anything which, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, is likely to identify any person and which, in the opinion of the Ombudsman, can be omitted from the statement without impairing its effectiveness,
the Ombudsman may only include such information in the version of the statement that he/she is required or empowered to send or which he/she publishes if it is in the public interest to include such a name or identifying particulars. In reaching his/her view, the Ombudsman must have regard to the interests of the person aggrieved and any other persons he/she thinks appropriate.
45.In the case of the version of the statement that the Ombudsman is required to send, under section 12(2), to the person who made the complaint and the listed authority, it is not anticipated that it would be difficult for the Ombudsman to show that it is in the public interest to include such information. This is because, in such cases, there is likely to be a strong public interest in those parties knowing the names and identities of persons that the Ombudsman considers it necessary to refer to in the statement. Indeed, in many cases such a statement is likely to name or identify only the person aggrieved, the listed authority that took the action which is the subject of the complaint, and those of its employees who are relevant (e.g. if the employee of the listed authority took the action complained of).
