HC Deb 27 April 2004 vol 420 cc865-6W
Mr. Bellingham

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the system of targets and bonuses in the Financial Ombudsman Service on the quality of its work. [168903]

Ruth Kelly

None. The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent body. Responsibility for managing the work of the Financial Ombudsman Service is a matter for them.

I understand from the ombudsman service that quality assurance is embedded in the control processes of the service. Appropriate checks are made, in the first instance, at management level and the Board of the Financial Ombudsman Service receives monthly reports on service quality, timeliness and productivity. The most important quality check however lies in the ability of either party to a dispute to request that an ombudsman decide the outcome rather than consenting to the outcome proposed by an adjudicator. Only 10 per cent. of cases are required to be decided by an ombudsman.

Mr. Bellingham

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from(a) industry and (b) the public on the system of targets and bonuses in the Financial Ombudsman Service. [168901]

Ruth Kelly

None. The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent body. The staff employed by it are not civil servants, and the arrangements for managing and paying their staff are matters for the Financial Ombudsman Service and its Board.

Mr. Bellingham

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has conducted into the system of targets and bonuses in the Financial Ombudsman Service. [168902]

Ruth Kelly

None. The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent body. Responsibility for monitoring the level of service is a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service itself.

I understand from the Financial Ombudsman Service that the Board of the Financial Ombudsman Service receives monthly reports on customer satisfaction research, and these have shown over the past 12 months overall satisfaction rates of between 75 per cent. and 88 per cent. The Financial Ombudsman Service also published in March 2004 research on what firms think about their service; the research showed that the vast majority of firms were satisfied with the fairness of decisions and with the process.