ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the public office of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, now referred to as Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The Parliamentary Ombudsman is an independent office that can help citizens make a complaint against a public authority. The Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament and oversight of the work of the Ombudsman is undertaken by the Public Administration Select Committee. The Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 resulted from the Crichel Down Affair in 1954, where pre-existing remedies were found not to be an adequate redress for members of the public who had suffered maladministration in central Government. The Office of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) was set up to have the ability to investigate a wide range of complaints by members of the public. Under successive Governments a large proportion of council housing was sold off and parts of HM Prison Service were contracted-out under Private Finance Initiatives (PFI).
