Quotes about Ombudsmen
A lot has been said about Public Service Ombudsmen; some of it
complimentary, but most of it accurate.
A Public Service Ombudsman's ultimate victim is himself.
The more we know about Public Service Ombudsmen the less we like them.
Public Service Ombudsmen are a cul-de-sac down which facts are lured and
then quietly strangled.
A Public Service Ombudsman that's afraid to let complainants know the truth
is an Ombudsman that's afraid of complainants.
A Public Service Ombudsman has not converted a complainant just because they
have silenced him.
A Public Service Ombudsman's solution to a problem is usually as bad as the
problem.
A Public Service Ombudsman is condemned when the guilty authority is
absolved.
There's no trick in finding fault with Public Service Ombudsmen when you
have Public Service Ombudsmen working with you.
A Public Service Ombudsman works well when cornered like a rat in a trap.
Some drink from the fountain of wisdom; Public Service Ombudsmen only
gargle.
Public Service Ombudsmen; an experiment in Artificial Stupidity.
Public Service Ombudsmen can no longer hide a life of contradiction.
Justice is too big and too important to leave to Public Service Ombudsmen.
Public Service Ombudsmen - a group of people who individually can do nothing
but as a group decide that nothing can be done.
The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of
an Ombudsman, common sense came last.
Public Service Ombudsmen are the weakest link in our system of justice and
they are also the most protected.
Public Service Ombudsmen's rule number 1 - If the facts don't fit their
conclusions, change the facts.
It is said that power corrupts Public Service Ombudsmen, but actually it's
the power that attracts the corruptible.
There is no difference between an organisation that commits acts of
maladministration and Public Service Ombudsmen that stand idly by whilst others
carry them out.
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Facts about Ombudsmen
All Public Service Ombudsmen in England are ex authority without any relevant
legal qualifications. (Compare that to a Judge)
Local Government Ombudsmen don't meet the criteria for membership of the British
and Irish Ombudsman's Association. Yet they are members!
The Parliamentary Ombudsman finds more than twice as much maladministration
as the Local Government Ombudsman.
Local Government Ombudsmen always believe the Council.
Local Government Ombudsmen are not accountable.
In 1985 Local Government Ombudsmen reported ten times more maladministration
than they do now.
Local Government Ombudsmen don't even follow their own good administrative
practice guidelines.
Local Government Ombudsman Investigators are paid a bonus if they meet
targets.
A local settlement is agreed between the Local Government Ombudsman and the
Council and not between the council and the complainant.
Local Government Ombudsmen allow a council 12 weeks to reply whilst they
expect the complainant to respond within 3 weeks.
Local Government Ombudsmen don't meet the criteria for membership of the
International Ombudsman's Institute (IOI).
The Parliamentary Ombudsman doesn't follow her own good administrative
practice guidelines.
A large proportion of Local Government Ombudsman staff are ex local
authority.
Local Government Ombudsmen report less maladministration than they did a few
years ago.
Local Government Ombudsmen do not abide by the rules of natural justice.
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Quotes for complainants
Public Service Ombudsmen: First, they ignore you. Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you. Then you win.
It's dangerous to be right when a Public Service Ombudsman is wrong.
Evidence and reason: our heroes and our guides.
It's the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
Truth is like oil, no matter how much water you pour on it, it will always
float.
A tribunal of foxes will always find the fox innocent.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in
finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong.
The humblest citizen of all the land, when clad in the armour of a righteous
cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error.
As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected
and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever.
The pursuit of truth will set you free; even if you never catch up with it.
In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. -
George Orwell.
Facts do not cease to exist just because Public Service Ombudsmen ignore
them.
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