An Ombudsman and Tribunals Familiarisation Working Group was set up in Spring 2019. The Working Group is exploring how the two sectors can work together more closely, from more effective signposting to encouraging sharing of best practice and learning between the sectors. The Working Group is Chaired by Donal Galligan, Director of the Ombudsman Association and consists of representatives from tribunals, ombudsman schemes, academics, the Ministry of Justice, frontline advice and advocacy sector organisations, and the Pro-Bono Panel. The working group will have the following aims:
• To encourage the sharing of learning between ombudsman schemes and tribunals;
• To share best practice between the two sectors, across jurisdictions and with other related redress mechanisms;
• To develop pilots which can be shared and rolled out to other jurisdictions;
• To develop an academic research programme which can aid future projects;
• To liaise with the other AJC panels, the steering group and the full Council; and
• To arrange workshops bringing together stakeholders to discuss key issues.
A Workshop was held on 11 October 2019 with the aim of bringing together members of the judiciary and ombuds schemes. Minutes from the Workshop can be found here.
Update: This group has now been formally closed. There are several strands of work underway elsewhere to promote interaction between the two sectors and it is proposed that an AJC seminar be arranged in due course for colleagues to offer associated progress and developments.