Overview
The complainant (Mr C) raised a number of concerns about statements made by the then First Minister in the Scottish Parliament and about how his complaint was dealt with by the Office of the First Minister.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the First Minister made two inaccurate statements to the Scottish Parliament on 9 February 2006 (not upheld);
- (b) there is no clear and publicly available complaints procedure for the Office of the First Minister, which should incorporate the right of appeal to an independent body (not upheld);
- (c) the Scottish Ministerial Code is deficient in that it lacks a clear mechanism for bringing complaints against Scottish Ministers, including the First Minister (partially upheld); and
- (d) the Office of the First Minister failed to respond to a complaint submitted by Mr C (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that:
- (i) Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Executive reflect on how they might bring about greater clarity in the arrangements for making different types of complaint about Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Executive; and
- (ii) the Scottish Executive review its procedures for acknowledging complaints and keeping complainants informed when target response times cannot be met.
The Scottish Executive have accepted the recommendations.