Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of communications ombudsman processes on consumer confidence in dispute resolution services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has plans to undertake a review of the consistency of decision-making of the communications ombudsman.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of communication ombudsman timescales on consumers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the current operational status of the IPSO Arbitration Scheme, including whether arbitrators are presently being appointed to claims, and what evaluation she has made of the implications of any such delays for the public’s ability to access timely and effective redress.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. This is vital to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. The Government therefore does not intervene in or evaluate the work of IPSO.
However, under Section 179 of the Data Protection Act every three years the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report on the use and effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as arbitration, in cases involving a failure or alleged failure by relevant media organisations to comply with data protection legislation. The most recent report was presented to Parliament in May 2024 and was carried independently of DCMS by David Rossington, as the Independent Reviewer. The report is published on the Gov.uk website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d2ded5fb8db2176d5e97d0/Formatted_240312_SECOND_REPORT_UNDER_SECTION_179_OF_THE_DATA_PROTECTION_ACT_v3__FINAL__accessible.pdf.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what performance monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are in place to ensure that the administrative provider of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme delivers services to the agreed standard, and what recourse is available to members should those standards not be met.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Details of how personal data is processed and stored are outlined in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) privacy notice which is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/-/media/documents/member/factsheets/gdpr/dfe-privacy-notice-gdpr-v12-march-2023-for-web.ashx?rev=a6788c6aa67e4ac7b3d3f4df74462add&hash=ACAAEF10BB57B5814744376B519FABA1.
The TPS complies fully with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
For members requiring additional communication support, the contact us page provides alternative communication options. The scheme also meets the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and is committed to ensuring accessibility for all members and employers. The accessibility statement on the TPS website explains how the site is designed to be inclusive and is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/public/accessibility.aspx.
To maintain service standards, the department monitors the administrator against agreed performance metrics, set out in the TPS administration contract, through established governance arrangements. If contract administration fails to meet established standards and performance metrics, the department can impose financial penalties on the administrator.
Where members believe service standards have not been met, they can use a dispute resolution process to raise this. If dissatisfied with the outcome, they may escalate their complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman for independent review.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the service standards and accessibility requirements for the administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme will include provisions to support members with hearing impairments or communication needs when accessing helpline or case-management support.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Details of how personal data is processed and stored are outlined in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) privacy notice which is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/-/media/documents/member/factsheets/gdpr/dfe-privacy-notice-gdpr-v12-march-2023-for-web.ashx?rev=a6788c6aa67e4ac7b3d3f4df74462add&hash=ACAAEF10BB57B5814744376B519FABA1.
The TPS complies fully with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
For members requiring additional communication support, the contact us page provides alternative communication options. The scheme also meets the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and is committed to ensuring accessibility for all members and employers. The accessibility statement on the TPS website explains how the site is designed to be inclusive and is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/public/accessibility.aspx.
To maintain service standards, the department monitors the administrator against agreed performance metrics, set out in the TPS administration contract, through established governance arrangements. If contract administration fails to meet established standards and performance metrics, the department can impose financial penalties on the administrator.
Where members believe service standards have not been met, they can use a dispute resolution process to raise this. If dissatisfied with the outcome, they may escalate their complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman for independent review.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the personal data of members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme is (a) stored, (b) processed and (c) protected in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Details of how personal data is processed and stored are outlined in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) privacy notice which is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/-/media/documents/member/factsheets/gdpr/dfe-privacy-notice-gdpr-v12-march-2023-for-web.ashx?rev=a6788c6aa67e4ac7b3d3f4df74462add&hash=ACAAEF10BB57B5814744376B519FABA1.
The TPS complies fully with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
For members requiring additional communication support, the contact us page provides alternative communication options. The scheme also meets the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and is committed to ensuring accessibility for all members and employers. The accessibility statement on the TPS website explains how the site is designed to be inclusive and is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/public/accessibility.aspx.
To maintain service standards, the department monitors the administrator against agreed performance metrics, set out in the TPS administration contract, through established governance arrangements. If contract administration fails to meet established standards and performance metrics, the department can impose financial penalties on the administrator.
Where members believe service standards have not been met, they can use a dispute resolution process to raise this. If dissatisfied with the outcome, they may escalate their complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman for independent review.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to set statutory response times for complaints made under the Great British Railways passenger complaints system.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We expect that the establishment of GBR will mean that there will be a single complaint process for passengers for the majority of rail services.
GBR will have to follow the minimum standards set by the passenger watchdog on complaint handling when setting up its complaint handling system. ORR currently sets this standard and guides licenced operators to provide a full response to at least 95% of all complaints within 20 working days. It will be up to the watchdog to determine if this guidance is updated once it takes over this function from ORR.
The passenger watchdog will also ensure all passengers have access to a fair and independent alternative dispute resolution service (the Rail Ombudsman) to resolve disputes with operators where passengers have been let down.
Asked by: Douglas McAllister (Labour - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to enter into alternative dispute resolution with WASPI Ltd.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have no plans to do so.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of independence of the Property Redress Service.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department monitors the performance of Property Redress through monthly data returns and regular governance meetings. We take all complaints about their services seriously. Where they arise, we challenge the schemes if we receive suggestions that they have failed to meet the standards to which they subscribe. We are satisfied with the responses to date.
Property Redress are approved as a competent alternative dispute resolution provider under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. As part of this, they are subject to periodic review and required to demonstrate how their decision making remains independent.