Ombudsman's office 'too often failing in its duty' to the public

The body that investigates complaints about public services is failing to perform and should be overhauled, a Scottish Government minister has said.

Alex Neil called for a "fundamental look" at the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), which costs about 3.5 million a year.

Speaking on behalf of constituents who lodged eight petitions at Holyrood, the housing minister and Central Scotland MSP said the office was "too often failing in its duty".

He said: "Given the parliament spends just under 3.5m a year in funding the ombudsman, we need a far better return for our money. To quote one of the petitioners, it's not worth a farthing in terms of the quality of service the petitioners have received."

He said its powers were limited and recommendations were sometimes ignored.

But ombudsman Jim Martin, hit back, accusing the minister of putting "undue pressure" on his office. He said: "Mr Neil is clearly out of touch. A full review and overhaul of all of our investigative procedures was carried out and implemented in 2010.

"There is no longer a backlog of cases. Indeed, other ombudsman offices from devolved administrations have visited us to try to learn from our revised working practices.

"The SPSO he is describing is the SPSO of 18 months ago. I am disappointed that he has not taken the time to bring himself up to date with our current performance. My annual report will be published later this month and should answer the concerns he has raised."