ABSTRACT
The introduction of the office did herald the creation of further Ombudsmen, as illustrated by the National Health Service Act 1977, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, Local Government Act 1974, Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975, Commissioner for Complaints (Northern Ireland) Act 1969. You should also be aware of the various reforms introduced under the Parliamentary and Health Service Commissioners Act 1987 and the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. The introduction of the recent government initiative ‘Citizens Charter: Raising the Standard’ (1991) allows us to assess the effectiveness of the office 25 years after its creation. It is important that you view the impact of the creation of the office, both upon the operators of public administration and the recipients of the service they provide. You might compare and contrast the operation of the office, as a means of redress of citizens’ grievances with the other avenues open to citizens to redress their grievances. The relationship between the office and administrative law may be considered by reference to the cases of R v Knowsley ex parte Maguire (1992), R v Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration ex parte Dyer (1994) and R v Insurance Ombudsman ex parte Aegon (1994). The latter case illustrates the developing ranks of non-statutory Ombudsmen.
