Public sector

Recommendations:

The Ombudsman has recommended that US Citizenship and Immigration Services:

1. Establish a better means of informing the public how to submit general complaints; and
2. Publish the collected complaint data for public scrutiny.

Reasons:

Police have launched an investigation after the prisoner ombudsman said a prison officer planted a note containing personal details about the governor of Maghaberry jail.

The note was found in the cell of a dissident republican suspect in December 2009. The governor at the time, Steve Rodford, resigned a short time later because of fears he was under threat.

Pauline McCabe has completed a 15 month investigation into the incident. She concluded the note was hidden in the cell by a member of staff opposed to planned reforms at the prison.

The child, known only as Miss C, died suddenly when she suffered a severe reaction shortly after being diagnosed as having a nut allergy.

Emily Logan, Ombudsman for Children, talks about the nature of her role, her background in healthcare and a new, major project on children’s rights in healthcare.

Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin says he will investigate the way the provincial Health Ministry approves funding for the drug Herceptin.

His announcement today comes after a woman was denied funding for the drug because her tumor was too small.

Health Minister Deb Matthews says she welcomes Marin's investigation and her department will co-operate with it.

Matthews says the health ministry and Cancer Care Ontario are looking into what can be done when patients have a condition that is not black and white.

The head of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has admitted that the department needs to improve its customer service but said it was unlikely to be in a "good place" before 2013.

Mike Clasper, chairman of HMRC, said the two main areas that needed improving were customer service and staff engagement.

Appearing before the Treasury Sub-Committee, he was challenged by MPs who said they had received letters from constituents complaining that they had tried to contact HMRC on several occasions, and been on hold for more than two hours, but had still not had their calls answered.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has given the welfare payment agency Centrelink a bad report card.

Prompted by thousands of complaints to his office, the Ombudsman has taken a detailed look and identified "systemic weaknesses", including Centrelink not telling clients whether they had their benefits cut or even if they owe money.

Source: ABC News

Senator Lois Wolk, D-Solano, a longtime advocate for the protection of seniors in California, introduced legislation recently to strengthen the state ombudsman program that works to protect residents in long-term care facilities.

The ombudsman for Canada's federal taxpayers is more likely to get calls once assessment notices arrive, but tax filing time is often when the seeds for conflicts with the Canada Revenue Agency are planted.

Taxpayers should make sure they know their rights and start keeping records of any communication they have with CRA, said Paul Dube, a University of Windsor law school graduate who was named Canada's first taxpayer ombudsman three years ago.

Source: Windsor Star