Legislation
The powers and functions of the Ombudsmen are contained in five main pieces of legislation:
- The Ombudsmen Act 1975;
- The Official Information Act 1982;
- The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987;
- The Crimes of Torture Act 1989; and
- The Protected Disclosures Act 2000.
The agencies that come under the Ombudsmen's jurisdiction under the Ombudsmen Act are listed in Schedule 1 of that Act.
The agencies that come under the Ombudsmen's jurisdiction under the Official Information Act include:
- Ministers of the Crown;
- the departments and organisations listed in Part 1 and Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Ombudsmen Act (except for the Parliamentary Counsel Office, the Parliamentary Service and mortality review committees); and
- the organisations listed in Schedule 1 of the Official Information Act.
The agencies that come under the Ombudsmen's jurisdiction under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act include:
- the local authorities listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of that Act; and
- council-controlled organisations and council organisations: the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act applies to council-controlled organisations as if they are local authorities - see section 74 of the Local Government Act 2002.
If you are unsure whether an agency comes under the Ombudsmen's jurisdiction, please contact us.