Ombudsman issues call for evidence on record keeping ahead of new investigation

The Housing Ombudsman has issued a call for evidence to support its next systemic investigation which will look at record keeping and data management.

This has been a “consistent theme” found in its casework, with 67% of investigations upheld in 2021-22 involving poor records.

The Housing Ombudsman service said that strong record keeping practices are integral to effective complaint handling and landlords’ overall service provision, and the purpose of the call for evidence is to understand more about the current barriers to effective knowledge and information management.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Our previous Spotlight reports have covered a wide range of topics but poor record keeping has been repeatedly identified as a driver of poor service.

“This can result in residents experiencing inadequate responses, delays and things not being put right. It is a systemic, sector-wide issue and that’s why we’re focusing on it as the subject of our next investigation and the topic of a Spotlight report in its own right.

“The fact that more than two thirds of our determinations with a finding of maladministration have identified record keeping as an issue should be a cause of concern for landlords, particularly their governing bodies. There are real benefits for services by getting record keeping right and our report will support landlords in doing just that.”

Complaint handlers within social landlords are invited to submit evidence which will help the Ombudsman make recommendations that promote greater understanding of the importance of information and knowledge management.

The Ombudsman has said it will share best practice, helping landlords to develop their policies and procedures with a view to improving the experience of all residents.

Residents were invited to share their experiences and give views on their landlords’ practices through discussion forums with members in a Resident Panel.

The Ombudsman has revealed that feedback from those forums together with submissions to the call for evidence and an analysis of its casework, will all form part of the investigation and the final Spotlight report to be published next year.

The Ombudsman published a systemic framework in March 2021 setting out how it will look beyond individual disputes to identify key issues that impact on residents and landlords’ services.

The framework allows the Ombudsman to issue a call for evidence, and it will use this to support a thematic investigation into knowledge and information management.

Lottie Winson