I’m proud of the Housing Ombudsman’s work but we can do much more

There’s much in both documents to consider, but I would highlight three points.

The first is the speed it takes us to reach a decision on casework. This is the single issue we are challenged about most. Determination times are averaging six months, significantly faster than a few years ago and comparable to other ombudsmen. This time includes waiting for evidence to be submitted by landlords to us, as well as investigating the case.

Our goal now is to reduce these times further and achieve the fastest average case handling rate on record for us – moving to effectively half the current rate over the next two years. This needs to be done in a planned way, while simultaneously allowing us to maintain the quality of our decision-making.

It will also require more resource, which is why we are proposing the first increase in our subscription rate for three years. We are making our processes more efficient, but ultimately an unprecedented rise in casework and faster determination times cannot be achieved without more support.

Achieving this objective requires landlords to play their part too; this means the more timely submission of evidence from landlords to us. We do not receive a response to our initial evidence request in an estimated 25% of cases. We want to work with landlords to improve this. However, we will also be seeking the ability to make a determination where a landlord has not provided evidence in a reasonable timeframe as part of our revised scheme.

Second, a single complaint can signal a wider problem. The ombudsman should be able to use the information gathered from our investigations more effectively and to be more proactive. We want to strengthen our scheme so that we can conduct further investigations beyond the initial complaint to establish whether a failure is indicative of a systemic issue.

Any systemic failing found will be referred to the Regulator of Social Housing, maintaining a clear distinction between the roles of the two bodies.

“An unprecedented rise in casework and faster determination times cannot be achieved without more support”

Finally, the ombudsman should not be remote or distant. Being accessible, open and transparent is vital. That’s why we want to publish more data on the complaints we’re handling, the trends we are seeing, and the performance we are achieving, together with all determinations and annual online reports for the 2,500 landlords who belong to our service. This data is an important source of learning for the sector and ourselves and we want to share it widely. It’s also right residents have more access to it.

I’ve found widespread respect for the hard-working team at our service. They have great insight, knowledge and experience, and I want to make sure they have more opportunities through our sector development work to help improve complaint handling practices where necessary and share good practice.

This consultation is an important step on our journey to transforming our service – a service which is a core part of a healthy housing system.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman