Renewed criticism of the Health and Social Care Inspectorate for the slow processing of requests for access to official documents

In September 2023, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate was criticised by the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman for the slow processing of requests for access to official documents.

In this decision, the  Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman directs renewed criticism at the Health and Social Care Inspectorate for not processing such requests with the promptness that is required under the Freedom of the Press Act. The processing times have been approximately two to six weeks.  The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman states that the Health and Social Care Inspectorate has not come close to meeting the promptness requirement and emphasises that an authority must ensure that the principle of public access to official documents is implemented. He stresses the importance of the continuation of the authority’s work to reduce processing times and intends to monitor developments in this area.