The Regulatory Reform (Collaboration etc. between Ombudsmen) Order 2007
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
2007 No. 1889
REGULATORY REFORM
The Regulatory Reform (Collaboration etc. between Ombudsmen) Order 2007
Made 27th June 2007
Coming into force 1st August 2007
This Order is made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office (“the Minister”) in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1 of the Regulatory Reform Act 20011.
For the purposes of section 3(1) of that Act, the Secretary of State is of the opinion that this Order does not –
(a) remove any necessary protection, or
(b) prevent any person from continuing to exercise any right or freedom which he might reasonably expect to continue to exercise.
For the purposes of section 3(2) of that Act, the Secretary of State is of the opinion, in relation to any burden created by this Order, that —
(a) the provisions of this Order, taken as a whole, strike a fair balance between the public interest and the interests of the persons affected by the burden, and
(b) the extent to which this Order removes or reduces one or more burdens, or has other beneficial effects for persons affected by the burdens imposed by the existing law, makes it desirable for the Order to be made.
The Secretary of State has consulted in accordance with section 5(1) of that Act.
The Secretary of State laid a document before Parliament containing his proposals for this Order in accordance with section 6(1) of that Act.
In accordance with section 8(4) of that Act the Secretary of State has had regard to the representations made during the period for Parliamentary consideration and in particular to the Fifth Report of Session 2006-07 of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Lords2and to the Second Report of Session 2006-07 of the Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Commons3.
The Secretary of State has laid a draft of this Order before Parliament with a statement as required by section 8(5) of that Act.
The draft has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
Accordingly the Minister in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 1 of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 makes the following Order—
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Regulatory Reform (Collaboration etc. between Ombudsmen) Order 2007 and comes into force on 1st August 2007.
(2) In this Order —
“the 1967 Act” means the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 19674;
“the 1974 Act” means the Local Government Act 19745;
“the 1993 Act” means the Health Service Commissioners Act 19936.
Collaborative working
2. After section 11A of the 1967 Act7insert —
“Collaborative working between the Parliamentary Commissioner and other Commissioners
11ZAA.—(1) If at any stage in the course of conducting an investigation under this Act the Commissioner forms the opinion that the complaint relates partly to a matter within the jurisdiction of —
(a)
(a) the Health Service Commissioner for England,
(b)
(b) a Local Commissioner, or
(c)
(c) both,
he may, subject to subsection (2) of this section, conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
(2) The Commissioner must obtain the consent of the person aggrieved or any person acting on his behalf in accordance with subsection (2) of section 6 of this Act before agreeing to a joint investigation referred to in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) If the Commissioner forms the opinion that a complaint which is being investigated by—
(a)
(a) the Health Service Commissioner for England,
(b)
(b) a Local Commissioner, or
(c)
(c) both,
relates partly to a matter within his jurisdiction, he may, subject to subsection (4) of this section, conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
(4) The Commissioner may not investigate a complaint jointly with another person under subsection (3) of this section unless the complaint has been made in accordance with section 5 of this Act.
(5) If the Commissioner conducts an investigation of a complaint jointly with another person, the requirements of section 10 (so far as relating to a case where the Commissioner conducts an investigation under this Act) may be satisfied by a report made jointly with that person.
(6) Apart from identifying the government department or other authority concerned, a report prepared by virtue of subsection (5) of this section by the Commissioner and a Local Commissioner shall not—
(a)
(a) mention the name of any person, or
(b)
(b) contain any particulars which, in the opinion of the Commissioner and the Local Commissioner, are likely to identify any person,
unless, after taking into account the public interest as well as the interests of the complainant and of persons other than the complainant, the Commissioner and the Local Commissioner consider it necessary to mention the name of that person or to include in the report any such particulars.
(7) Nothing in subsection (6) of this section prevents a report—
(a)
(a) mentioning the name of, or
(b)
(b) containing particulars likely to identify,
the Mayor of London or any member of the London Assembly.”.
3. In section 3 of the 1967 Act (administrative provisions)8, after subsection (2) insert—
“2A For the purposes of conducting a joint investigation referred to in section 11ZAA of this Act, any function of the Commissioner under this Act may be performed by any officer or member of staff of the Commission for Local Administration in England authorised for the purpose by the Commissioner.”.
4. After section 33 of the 1974 Act9, insert—
“Collaborative working between Local Commissioners and other Commissioners
33ZA.—(1) If at any stage in the course of conducting an investigation under this Act a Local Commissioner forms the opinion that the complaint relates partly to a matter within the jurisdiction of —
(a)
(a) the Parliamentary Commissioner,
(b)
(b) the Health Service Commissioner for England, or
(c)
(c) both,
he may, subject to subsection (2) below, conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
(2) A Local Commissioner must obtain the consent of the person aggrieved or any person acting on his behalf in accordance with subsection (2) of section 27 of this Act before agreeing to a joint investigation referred to in subsection (1) above.
(3) If a Local Commissioner forms the opinion that a complaint which is being investigated by—
(a)
(a) the Parliamentary Commissioner,
(b)
(b) the Health Service Commissioner, or
(c)
(c) both,
relates partly to a matter within his jurisdiction, he may conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
(4) If a Local Commissioner conducts an investigation of a complaint jointly with another person, the requirements of section 30(1) (so far as relating to a case where the Local Commissioner conducts an investigation under this Act) may be satisfied by a report made jointly with that person.
(5) In relation to an investigation which has been conducted jointly with another person a direction given by the Local Commissioner under section 30(7) of this Act may relate only to those parts of a joint report prepared by virtue of subsection (4) above which are specified in the direction.”.
5. In Schedule 4 to the 1974 Act (the Commission), in paragraph 410, after sub-paragraph (5) insert—
“6 For the purposes of conducting a joint investigation referred to in section 33ZA of this Act any function of a Local Commissioner may be performed by—
(a) any officer of the Parliamentary Commissioner, or
(b) any officer of the Health Service Commissioner for England,
who is authorised for the purpose by a Local Commissioner.”.
6. After section 18 of the 1993 Act (consultation during investigations)11, insert —
“Collaborative working between the Commissioner and other Commissioners
18ZA.—(1) If at any stage in the course of conducting an investigation under this Act the Commissioner forms the opinion that the complaint relates partly to a matter within the jurisdiction of—
(a)
(a) the Parliamentary Commissioner,
(b)
(b) a Local Commissioner, or
(c)
(c) both,
he may, subject to subsection (2), conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
(2) The Commissioner must obtain the consent of the person aggrieved or any person acting on his behalf in accordance with section 9(3) before agreeing to a joint investigation referred to in subsection (1).
(3) If the Commissioner forms the opinion that a complaint which is being investigated by—
(a)
(a) the Parliamentary Commissioner,
(b)
(b) a Local Commissioner, or
(c)
(c) both,
relates partly to a matter within his jurisdiction, he may conduct an investigation under this Act jointly with that Commissioner or those Commissioners.
(4) If the Commissioner conducts an investigation of a complaint jointly with another person, the requirements of section 14 (reports)12(so far as relating to a case where the Commissioner conducts an investigation under this Act) may be satisfied by a report made jointly with that person.
(5) Apart from identifying any body or provider investigated, a report prepared by virtue of subsection (4) by the Commissioner and a Local Commissioner shall not—
(a)
(a) mention the name of any person, or
(b)
(b) contain any particulars which, in the opinion of the Commissioner and the Local Commissioner, are likely to identify any person and can be omitted without impairing the effectiveness of the report,
unless, after taking into account the public...
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