To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment she has made of any regulatory limitations on the powers of the Office of the Local Government Ombudsman to fulfil its functions; (208899)

Our 2006 local government White Paper ‘Strong and Prosperous communities’, proposed a number of reforms to modernise the role of the Local Government Ombudsman, including extending their jurisdiction, which we have implemented from April 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the contribution made by the Local Government Ombudsman to (a) good practice, (b) increasing professional standards, (c) probity, (d) improving quality decision taking and (e) striving for improvement in local government. (208901)

Decisions and recommendations of the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) in response to allegations of maladministration in local authorities are made wholly independently of Government. However, to ensure their public accountability, the LGO publishes a comprehensive annual review, showing performance against business goals for the year. They also submit an annual detailed business statement to my Department, which we assess carefully before deciding the level of their annual grant, which is subject to the approval of the House. From these documents we are satisfied that the LGO continues to provide a valuable and efficient means of redress for citizens facing maladministration by local authorities.