The Regulatory Reform (Collaboration etc. between Ombudsmen) Order 2007

Collaborative working

2.  After section 11A of the 1967 Act(1) insert —

“11ZAA    Collaborative working between the Parliamentary Commissioner and other Commissioners

(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) the Health Service Commissioner for England,

(b) a Local Commissioner, or

(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) the Health Service Commissioner for England,

(b) a Local Commissioner, or

(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) mention the name of any person, or

(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) mentioning the name of, or

(b) containing particulars likely to identify,

the Mayor of London or any member of the London Assembly.”.

(1)

Inserted by the Parliamentary and Health Service Commissioners Act 1987 (c.39), section 4; amended by the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 (c.46), Schedule 2, paragraph 1; the Government of Wales Act 1998 (c.38), Schedule 12, paragraph 8; the Housing Act 2004 (c.34), Schedule 15, paragraph 1; the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005 (c.10) Schedule 6, paragraphs 1, 5; and S.I. 2004/1823, article 5.