By David Czarnetzki – 2nd May 2024
Rob Behrens term of office as Ombudsman came to an end on 31st March this year, yet no permanent successor has been appointed. Instead, the Government decided that Rebecca Hilsenrath, the Chief Executive, would become Acting Ombudsman from 1st April 2024.
Readers may be interested to know the search for Mr. Behrens replacement began on 18th April 2023, nearly a year before he was due to leave office. The full story is revealed in the written evidence of the House of Commons Administration to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) on the PACAC website (here).
Consultants GatenbySanderson were hired to find the right replacement, yet, after a thorough process, the recommended candidate was seemingly blocked by the Prime Minister’s Office. No explanation has been given and the full response to the Freedom of Information request is reproduced below.
Dear David Czarnetzki,
Freedom of Information Request F24-216
Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You asked the House of Commons six questions about the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), which we have sought to answer below.
1) In view of the fact an Acting Ombudsman is now in place, please confirm the appointment of the selected candidate was ‘blocked’ by the Prime Minister.
3) How will the recruitment process progress from here? Will the search for a new Ombudsman start from scratch again? If not how will it be conducted? What will be the cost.
4) Explain how this situation fits the official line, often repeated by Ministers in answer to parliamentary questions, that the Ombudsman is independent of Government.
and
5) Obtain a response from the Prime Minister as to why this situation has arisen and why his objections to the selected candidate were not processed in a more timely manner.
We do not hold any recorded information which answers these parts of your request.
Please note that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) only provides you with access to recorded information held by us at the time of a request. This does not extend to providing confirmations or explanations which are not already held, nor are we required to create information or request it from another authority to answer your question.
If you wish to request information from the Prime Minister, you may wish to contact the Prime Minister’s Office directly; contact details can be found on their webpages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/prime-ministers-office-10-downing-street.
2) How much taxpayers money has been spent, in total, on hiring Gatenby Sanderson to fulfil their role in this aborted recruitment process? [I would be grateful if you would also include, in your answer to question 2, the total (not individual) expenses incurred by the interview panel including ny travel and accommodation costs.]
In the first instance, please note that this recruitment process has not been “aborted”, and at the time of your request is in fact still ongoing. We have therefore interpreted this part of your request to mean the amount spent on hiring Gatenby Sanderson as well as the total expenses incurred by the interview panel for this process so far.
This information is held by the House of Commons. The total amount invoiced to GatenbySanderson so far for this recruitment process is £38,138 (exc. VAT) in total, while the total expenses for the interview panel at the time of your request is £13,201 (exc. VAT).
6) The budget funding this whole exercise be it the PHSO budget or elsewhere.
We have interpreted this part of your request to mean confirmation of the budget which has funded the recruitment process for the PHSO in this instance.
This information is held by the House of Commons. The funding for this exercise has come from the House of Commons’ budget.
You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to the House of Commons. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your request you may ask the House of Commons to conduct an internal review of any decision regarding your request. Complaints or requests for internal review should be addressed to: Information Compliance Team, Governance Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA or foicommons@parliament.uk. Please ensure that you specify the full reasons for your complaint or internal review along with any arguments or points that you wish to make.
If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, https://ico.org.uk/.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas Spencer
Information Rights Officer
House of Commons Information Compliance Service
Apparently, the recruitment process has not been ‘aborted’ and is ongoing. However, the process so far has cost the taxpayer £51,339 plus VAT. This has been spent on fees to GatenbySanderson and the expenses of the Interview Panel
Perhaps we should be grateful for two things:
- The Prime Minister has dispelled the myth that the Ombudsman is independent of Government.
- In the fullness of time, the Government will get the VAT back.
phsothetruestory 
PHSO’s recruitment agency spend for the 2022 financial year was £2,046,428.01.
‘1. The break down of the £2,046,428.01 figure by agency is as follows:
Hays £294,650.32
Logjec Recruitment £82,968.00
Michael Page £1,060,347.59
Reed £30,073.06
Robert Walters £502,615.04
Digital Gurus £10,560.00
Gatenby Sanderson £65,214.00′
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/recruitment_agency_spend_of_ps12?utm_campaign=alaveteli-experiments-87&utm_content=sidebar_similar_requests&utm_medium=link&utm_source=whatdotheyknow
The amount paid to GS for not getting an Ombudsman is huge compared to all individual payments made to complainants with upheld reviews in 2021-23 where a financial remedy was awarded.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/awards_and_compensation_between#incoming-2650116
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Well done to the author for submitting such a fabulous FOI request.👏👏👏
And I loved the LOL conclusion that the Government will be reimbursed the VAT the Government paid at a later date. 🤣
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The only thing this government is good at is turning public money into private profit. Here is yet another example.
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This type of incompetence shows everything you need to know about this awful current government. Wasting taxpayers’ money and obstructing the functioning of “important” institutions. Not that I think the opposition will be any good either. Perhaps they should just stop wasting money and make the acting Ombudsman into the permanent Ombudsman. She can’t be any worse that the last one.
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No one, including the Ombudsman, is independent of the Government in this grubby corrupt country. Even judges are appointed and approved by the Government. My own experience exemplifies just how deceitful and corrupt our country is at every level: https://patientcomplaintdhcftdotcom.wordpress.com/
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Absolutely the case. The establishment is keen to tell us that all these regulatory bodies are ‘independent’ yet the Government has to agree who gets the top job. It is indeed a corrupt country at every level.
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