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23-566: SPSO may refer to: Scottish Public Services Ombudsman , an ombudsman responsible for looking at complaints made about public services SportSouth , a regional sports network in the Southern United States Airport code for Capitán FAP Renán Elías Olivera Airport in Peru Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

46-399: A license to operate from the sector regulator. This license will set out the conditions by which the companies or organizations operating within the industry must abide. Regulatory regimes vary by country and industry. In the most light-touch forms of regulation, regulatory agencies are typically charged with overseeing a defined industry. Usually they will have two general tasks: In

69-493: A complaint. Reports of investigations that are laid before the Scottish Parliament are sent to the complainant, the body complained about and Scottish Ministers. The Ombudsman may make recommendations to the body to address failings identified in the investigation. The recommendations may be designed to provide redress to the individual complaint (for example, an explanation, an apology or re-imbursement of costs incurred as

92-595: A division, must be voted for by at least two-thirds of members. The Ombudsman remains independent from the bodies which they investigate. To safeguard the independence of the SPSO, under the provisions of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 , in the exercise of the SPSO's statutory functions, the SPSO is not subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Government or

115-516: A member of the public claims to have suffered injustice or hardship as a result of maladministration or service failure. The SPSO is the 'last resort'; investigating cases after the complainant has already exhausted the formal complaints procedure of the organisation concerned. The SPSO also shares learning from its work to improve service delivery across the public services spectrum in Scotland. The office carries out awareness-raising activities with

138-467: A part of the executive branch of the government and have statutory authority to perform their functions with oversight from the legislative branch. Their actions are often open to legal review . However, some regulatory bodies are industry-led initiatives rather than statutory agencies, and are called 'voluntary organisations'. They may be not-for-profit organisations or limited companies. They derive their authority from members' commitments to abide by

161-537: A result of the organisation's fault), or to improve general working practices within the organisation (for example, a change in procedure). The Ombudsman accompanies the reports laid before the Parliament with a monthly commentary. which summarises the reports and highlights any issues or trends to which the Ombudsman wishes to draw attention. The current Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is Rosemary Agnew . The Ombudsman

184-575: A specific time frame. Some organisations will have more than one stage in their complaints procedure so there may be a series of responses between the complainant and the body before reaching the end of the process. The final response from the organisation should contain an explanation that the complainant can contact the SPSO. Complaints arrive at the SPSO in the form of letters, emails, complaint forms and by phone. The SPSO receives large numbers of enquiries and complaints which are not within its remit or not ready for it to look at – in these cases, members of

207-785: Is a lack of effective competition . Examples of regulatory agencies that enforce standards include the Food and Drug Administration in the United States and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom ; and, in the case of economic regulation , the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets and the Telecom Regulatory Authority in India . Regulatory agencies may be

230-481: Is appointed by Her Majesty , on the nomination of the Scottish Parliament , for a period not exceeding five years. The Ombudsman is eligible for a second term but re-appointment for a third term is allowed only if desirable in the public interest due to special circumstances. The Ombudsman may be relieved of office by Her Majesty upon request or following a resolution of the Scottish Parliament which, if passed on

253-579: Is responsible for looking at complaints made by individual members of the Scottish public about most organisations providing public services in Scotland including councils, the National Health Service , housing associations , the Scottish Government and its agencies and directorates, universities and colleges, prisons and most Scottish public authorities . The SPSO examines complaints where

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276-477: The Ombudsman may make recommendations to redress problems identified. Organisations do not have to comply with the SPSO's recommendations and are not bound by the law to do so . If an organisation failed to implement recommendations the Ombudsman could, but in most cases won't, lay a 'special' report before the Scottish Parliament highlighting any concerns, which effectively makes the SPSO a toothless organisation with no real powers. The Trustpilot reviews. In 2013

299-732: The Ombudsman's role and terms of appointment. The legislation established the ombudsman as a 'one-stop-shop' assuming statutory duties that had previously been the remit of three previous offices – the Scottish Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Health Service Ombudsman, the Local Government Ombudsman for Scotland. It also took over non-statutory duties from the Housing Association Ombudsman for Scotland. The first Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

322-515: The SPSO worked with NHS Education for Scotland to develop complaints handling training materials for NHS staff. The SPSO worked closely with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), taking part in their working group looking at new guidance for adverse incident reviews. In August 2023, BetterCareScotland reported that the SPSO has been asked to investigate claims that Care Inspectorate inspection processes routinely fail to identify and, therefore, address risk-taking by care providers or recognise

345-523: The Scottish Parliament. The SPSO is a member of the Ombudsman Association. The Scottish Parliament pays the salary and expenses of the Ombudsman and any expenses incurred in the exercise of the Ombudsman's function. The Ombudsman is accountable to the Scottish Parliament and must lay an annual report and their investigation reports before the Parliament. If an investigation finds maladministration, which it won't properly define, or service failure,

368-445: The benefit of the public at large). The existence of independent regulatory agencies is justified by the complexity of certain regulatory and directorial tasks, and the drawbacks of political interference. Some independent regulatory agencies perform investigations or audits , and other may fine the relevant parties and order certain measures. In a number of cases, in order for a company or organization to enter an industry, it must obtain

391-787: The event that the regulated company is not in compliance with its license obligations or the law, the regulatory agency may be empowered to: In some instances, it is deemed in the public interest (by the legislative branch of government) for regulatory agencies to be given powers in addition to the above. This more interventionist form of regulation is common in the provision of public utilities , which are subject to economic regulation . In this case, regulatory agencies have powers to: The functions of regulatory agencies in prolong "collaborative governance" provide for generally non-adversarial regulation. Ex post actions taken by regulatory agencies can be more adversarial and involve sanctions, influencing rulemaking , and creating quasi-common law. However,

414-499: The general public, and bodies under jurisdiction and promotes good complaints handling by public service providers in Scotland. The SPSO has a separate website to support best practice in complaints handling. On 23 October 2002 the ombudsman service, headed by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, was established by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 . This Act of the Scottish Parliament outlines

437-607: The indicators of "closed cultures" in the sector and stonewalls serious complaints about the Care Inspectorate's operations. Regulatory agency A regulatory agency ( regulatory body , regulator ) or independent agency ( independent regulatory agency ) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulating capacity. These are customarily set up to strengthen safety and standards, and/or to protect consumers in markets where there

460-417: The public are directed to the appropriate body or Ombudsman service. The SPSO Act 2002 states the Ombudsman's powers, outlining what the Ombudsman can and cannot do. The Act stipulates that certain requirements must be met before it can investigate a complaint. The Ombudsman's service incurs no charge. The SPSO is not a watchdog or a regulator – their role is to give an independent and impartial decision on

483-510: The standards applied by the regulator, for instance as the UK's Advertising Standards Authority says "The self-regulation system works because it is powered and driven by a sense of corporate social responsibility amongst the advertising industry." Regulatory agencies deal in the areas of administrative law , regulatory law , secondary legislation , and rulemaking (codifying and enforcing rules and regulations, and imposing supervision or oversight for

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506-469: The title SPSO . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SPSO&oldid=483480116 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Scottish Public Services Ombudsman The SPSO

529-496: Was Professor Alice Brown . Complaints can be taken to the Ombudsman service once a person has gone through the complaints process of an organisation that comes under SPSO's jurisdiction. Most organisations have a formal complaints procedure that afford them an opportunity to resolve the complaint. An aggrieved member of the public must usually write to the body concerned to explain their dissatisfaction and how they wish their complaint to be resolved. A response should be issued within

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