The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is an independent office. We have two main roles; to deal with complaints made by or for children and young people about the actions of public organisations, and to promote the rights and welfare of children and young people under 18 living in Ireland. We promote children’s rights and welfare by finding out what children and young people are concerned about and highlighting their opinions to people who make decisions that affect them. We help people, especially young people, to find out about children’s rights and how those rights can be respected and made real. We advise Government and others to help make sure laws and plans respect children’s rights. We encourage public organisations to promote children’s rights in the work that they do. We also carry research to get a better understanding of issues that are important in children and young people’s lives.
The Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces was established under the provisions of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004. The Ombudsman is the ultimate point of appeal for complaints made by members (and former members) of the Irish Defence Forces against other members (or former members) of the Defence Forces, or against a civil servant of the Department of Defence, as provided for in the legislation.
We make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS in England and UK government departments and other public organisations. We do this fairly and without taking sides. Our service is free.
The Police Ombudsman's Office provides independent, impartial investigation of complaints about the police in Northern Ireland. We look at evidence to decide whether police officers have acted properly or not. Examples of the types of things we investigate include complaints that: officers were in breach of Criminal Law; officers failed to conduct proper enquiries; officers used excessive force; officers were rude or aggressive; or acted in breach of the Code of Ethics. We also investigate complaints about some, but not all, civilian employees of the police. This includes those performing custody and escort duties. Our decisions are made entirely independently of the police, government and complainants.
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has three specific roles. The first is to consider complaints about public service providers in Wales; the second is to consider complaints that elected members of local authorities have broken the Councillor Code of Conduct; the third is to drive public service improvement by promoting good complaints handling and learning from complaints. The Ombudsman is independent of all government bodies and the service provided is free of charge.
The Removals Industry Ombudsman Scheme (RIOS) provides an alternative dispute resolution service for clients of members of the National Guild of Removers (NGRS). Complainants are expected to exhaust the supplier’s own complaints process first, but if the matter cannot be resolved, they may contact the Removals Ombudsman. No charge is made to the complainant.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has four distinct functions:
- It is the final stage for complaints about most devolved public services in Scotland.
- It publishes and monitors complaints handling procedures, while supporting best practice in complaints handling.
- It independently reviews and can overturn decisions on Community Care and Crisis Grant applications for the Scottish Welfare Fund.
- Is the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer for the NHS in Scotland looking at how the NHS considers whistleblowing disclosures, and treats the individuals concerned.
SPSO services are free and independent.
We are an independent, not-for-profit, government approved Ombudsman. We offer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) training and advice to traders and consumers in the retail, furniture, and home improvement industries.
The Motor Ombudsman provides an independent and impartial dispute resolution service dedicated to the UK automotive industry. With more than 7,500 automotive businesses including vehicle manufacturers, franchised dealers, independent garages and used car outlets.
We’re governed by an independent Board and an Independent Compliance Assessment Panel (ICAP), are audited by CSTI to maintain and ensure our transparency and integrity, and strive to improve standards across the industry through our Codes of Practice.
The Pensions Ombudsman deals with complaints about workplace and personal pension schemes. We look at the facts without taking sides, and customers do not need to pay to use our service. We can also help with a complaint about a decision made by the Pension Protection Fund or the Financial Assistance Scheme.