Northern Ireland’s ombudsman reported a major increase in the number of complaints against the government and its agencies.
Dr Tom Frawley said there was a 15.4 per cent jump in complaints to his office in the last year, and an increase in cases where he detected poor administration or a failure to follow rules.
His annual report also included criticism of the Planning Service, which he said continued to make the same basic errors he has highlighted for years.
Dr Frawley said the tougher economic climate underlined the need for efficiency in publicly funded organisations.
The ombudsman said his office received 681 written complaints. It was an increase in workload which was related partly to a 120 per cent rise in complaints against the health service, though this was attributed to a change in how health-linked complaints were handled.
But his report also noted a jump in the number of maladministration cases in the Assembly and against the health service. Poor administration rulings were made in 21 cases at the Assembly, compared with 10 in the previous year. There were 23 rulings in the health sector, compared with 10 the previous year.
In his annual report, he said he was concerned at basic flaws that continued to surface in the Planning Service. Complaints about the service were up 13.7 per cent.
“The complaints were, as previously, almost exclusively from objectors to planning applications, for most of whom my office remains the only route by which to challenge the actions of the Planning Service, once a planning decision is made and the internal complaint process has been exhausted.”
He noted frustrations at the fact that under the current legislation he does not have the authority to overturn a planning decision, even if he disagrees with it.
But the ombudsman also noted persistent simple mistakes, including a failure to notify neighbours of proposed developments in their areas, failure to reply to letters, the provision of inaccurate information, or the insufficient explanation of decisions.
He noted continuing complaints over housing issues, relating to the Housing Executive and Housing Associations, but said they had fallen during the last year
PA