Other complaints-handling bodies

It might be thought that, with the creation of ombudsmen to deal with issues at a high level and with the more recent development of a wide variety of complaints resolu­tions procedures in individual government departments, there were now adequate means for the redress of citizens' complaints. In fact, other bodies and procedures have been created with more specific remits than the ombudsmen's but more general authority than an internal complaints procedure:

• The Adjudicator investigates complaints from people and businesses about how the Inland Revenue (including the Valuation Office Agency), Customs and Excise and the Contributions Agency of the Department of Social Security have handled their affairs. The Adjudicator does not look at issues of law or of tax liability, because there are tribunals which resolve these problems. But she does look into excessive delay, mistakes, discourtesy of staff and the use of discretion.

• The Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency investigates

complaints about maladministration by the Child Support Agency, when clients are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Agency's internal complaints service.

• Similarly the Independent Complaints Reviewer to HM Land Registry investigates complaints about the Land Registry. Her role is to establish whether there has been maladministration on the part of the agency in the conduct of matters giving rise to complaints. These include failure to meet standards of service, quality, speed and performance. Where appropriate she makes recommendations aimed at putting matters right for an individual complainant and improving Land Registry services in the future.

Other bodies include the Subsidence Adviser who considers the ways in which the Coal Authority and private mining companies handle claims for mining subsidence damage, and the Waterways Ombudsman which deals with complaints against British Waterways, where internal complaints have failed.

'Collective' administrative justice—regulators of privatized utility providers

Another context for the resolution of disputes arises from the privatization of the main utility providers—water, gas, telecommunications, for example. Following pri­vatization, the provision of services by state monopolies was, in the main, replaced by private monopolies. New regulatory offices—including OFWAT, OFGEM and OFTEL—were established to regulate these new industries to prevent abuse of market power in the setting of prices, and to create the conditions in which other suppliers might come into the market to provide the competition essential for consumer pro­tection. These regulatory offices have also had some responsibility for the develop­ment of procedures for dealing with individual customer complaints and complaints from others wishing to enter particular market sectors.

'Private' administrative justice—regulation of the professions

A final area in which the presence of institutions of administrative justice may be said to exist is in the regulation of the professions. Here private bodies, such as the Law Society (for solicitors) or the General Medical Council (for doctors) exercise statutory powers relating to the regulation of their professions, designed to enhance the quality of service provision and the protection of the public. In carrying out these functions, they and other professional regulators tend to operate through varying forms of tribunal, before which the doctor or lawyer is required to appear to answer the case against him or her.