15 years down the line....

Things might just change

Ombudsman Review — Ethics and Integrity Commission

Remit. The Ethics and Integrity Commission (EIC) — successor to the Committee on Standards in Public Life — launched its first formal inquiry on 3 March 2026: a review of the public sector ombudsman system. The Call for Evidence closed on 30 April 2026.

The Review's stated motivation is that, against a backdrop of "lengthy and expensive public inquiries in recent years revealing major organisational failures", public service ombudsman schemes may be in a position to identify and act on systemic issues before they escalate to the point of needing such inquiries. It builds on the Committee on Standards in Public Life's 2025 report Recognising and responding to early warning signs in public sector bodies.

Terms of Reference. The Review will inquire into seven things:

1. The public's expectations of the role of the modern public sector ombudsman.
2. How ombudsman schemes should balance individual complaints with identifying and investigating systemic failings, and supporting public bodies with institutional learning.
3. The powers ombudsman schemes need to investigate systemic failings, and any barriers to initiating such investigations.
4. The appropriate oversight mechanisms for any proposed changes.
5. Whether advisory Complaint Standards are sufficient, or whether they should be made statutory.
6. Whether ombudsman recommendations should be binding.
7. How to make the public sector ombudsman landscape easier for the public to navigate.

Key links

• Ombudsman Review main page
• Terms of Reference (PDF)
• Call for Evidence (PDF)
• FAQs
• Chair's letter to the Prime Minister
• Chair's letter to PACAC

Membership. The EIC's panel — independent chair, independent members and political members — is listed at: https://eic.independent-commission.uk/what-we-do/membership/

The Chair is Doug Chalmers CB DSO OBE, appointed by the Prime Minister on 13 October 2025.

Lieutenant General Douglas McKenzie "Doug" Chalmers, CB, DSO, OBE (born 26 February 1966) is a retired senior British Army officer and current academic administrator. He rose from enlisting as a private soldier to senior command roles, culminating as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations). Since 2021, he has served as Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. 

The Review is a thematic inquiry of the full Commission