Clause 7 - Appeal against remedial notice or decision of relevant authority
High Hedges Bill
11:00 am
Mr David Madel (South West Bedfordshire, Conservative)
My brief point follows on from that made by my hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Sir Sydney Chapman). The clause deals with grievances—with people who are upset or disappointed. If a person thinks that the local authority is being slow or inattentive to his or her grievance, is he or she to approach the Secretary of State or the local ombudsman? I am a great believer in the local ombudsman and was present when the law establishing the post was passed, but I have found it hard to explain to constituents the difference between the local ombudsman and the parliamentary ombudsman.
The public are slowly coming to understand the local ombudsman's powers, but local authorities could help. Perhaps they could insert a note with the yearly council tax bills, reminding council tax payers of who the local ombudsman is and what his powers are. The public need to be made aware of whether they go to the Secretary of State or to the local ombudsman when they have a grievance about the local authority's performance.