A voice for change? Trust relationships between ombudsmen, individuals and public service providers

Abstract

There has been a debate for years about what the role of the ombudsman is. This article examines a key component of the role, to promote trust in public services and government. To be able to do this, however, an ombudsman needs to be perceived as legitimate and be trusted by a range of stakeholders, including the user. This article argues that three key relationships in a person’s complaint journey can build trust in an institution, and must therefore be understood as a system. The restorative justice framework is adapted to conceptualize this trust model as a novel approach to understanding the ombudsman institution from the perspective of its users. Taking two public sector ombudsmen as examples, the paper finds that voice and trust need to be reinforced through the relationships in a consumer journey to manage individual expectations, prevent disengagement, and thereby promote trust in the institution, in public service providers, and in government.

Keywords:

• Ombudsmen
• administrative justice
• restorative justice
• external accountability
• voice
• trust

Notes

1. Example letters are available at ‘Councils’ Performance’, Local Government Ombudsman. Retrieved from: http://www.lgo.org.uk/CouncilsPerformance/, http://www.lgo.org.uk/documents/annualreview/2014/York%20City%20Council.pdf

2. Letter from Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman and Chair, Commission for Local Administration in England to Ms Kersten England, Chief Executive, City of York Council, ‘Annual Review Letter 2014’ (7 July 2014)