Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 April 2026
Letter from Paula Sussex, PHSO Ombudsman and Chair on follow-up written evidence after the oral evidence session on 24.3.26, dated 1.4.26
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Summary
Paula Sussex, PHSO Ombudsman, provides follow-up evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee after a 24 March hearing. She confirms HM Treasury approval of funding for additional caseworkers to manage a 25% rise in demand, clarifies the draft status of the WASPI State Pension Age investigation Action Plan, outlines the embedding of EDI principles into the 2026-31 Corporate Strategy, and details plans to survey NHS Trusts on Complaint Standards adoption and improve complaint assessment waiting times.
Key findings
- HM Treasury has approved PHSO's funding request, enabling recruitment of additional caseworkers to manage 25% demand growth in 2025-26 and reduce the unallocated complaints queue to frictional levels.
- The WASPI Action Plan remains in draft form; DWP has not finalised it or provided a timeline for publication and implementation, despite two 2025 workshops with departmental officials and feedback submitted in February 2026.
- PHSO has embedded EDI commitments into its 2026-31 Corporate Strategy, with internal focus on recruitment from underrepresented groups and senior-level representation improvements.
- PHSO will survey NHS Trusts to clarify adoption and impact of NHS Complaint Standards, which are non-mandatory and not subject to PHSO's monitoring authority.
- PHSO's complaint assessment waiting time (67 days in 2024-25) exceeds LGSCO's (35 days); differences in processes and complaint types complicate comparison, but PHSO is implementing digital transformation to improve timelines.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Paula Sussex, Rebecca Hilsenrath, Simon Hoare, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Treasury, NHS Trusts, Care Quality Commission (CQC), Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)
Notable line
“Embedding the lessons from this investigation into the Department's culture and operations is essential to avoid similar failings in future.”
Key Quotes
“HMT has approved this request, which will allow us to recruit additional caseworkers to better manage the increasing demand for our service and avoid the risks that …”
“The Action Plan remains in draft form and has not yet been finalised by the Department for Work and Pensions, nor formally agreed by my Office.”
“Embedding the lessons from this investigation into the Department's culture and operations is essential to avoid similar failings in future.”
“In February 2025, we took the decision to build our EDI commitments into the Corporate Strategy for 2026-31.”
“We do not have Complaint Standards Authority powers to monitor whether NHS Trusts are using the NHS Complaints Standards, which are not mandatory .”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗