The Information Promise sets out the standards that members of the public, organisations in our jurisdiction and others can expect from us when handling, storing, protecting and sharing information.
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Our role is to consider complaints that government departments, a range of other public organisations in the UK and the NHS in England have not acted properly or fairly, or have provided a poor service.
We hold a large amount of information in connection with our statutory functions. Some of that information is personal, sensitive and confidential. We are committed to safeguarding the information we hold and treating it seriously.
At the same time, we seek to share the learning from our complaints with the general public and with individuals and organisations that are likely to benefit from having access to the information.
The challenge for us is to balance the need to protect the personal and other information given in confidence, with the benefit of sharing information more widely.
We have developed the Information Promise in consultation with our customers, stakeholders and staff to help us meet this challenge.
Our Information Promise is that we will:
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value the information entrusted to us and make sure we respect that trust
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handle the information entrusted to us lawfully, appropriately and in accordance with our values and the Ombudsman’s Principles
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let individuals and organisations know how we will use the information they give us
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be clear and open about our approach to sharing and publishing the information we hold
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have effective systems and processes in place to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the information we hold
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make sure our staff understand their responsibilities and handle information properly; and check that we are living up to our promise and report on how we are doing.
Further information on how we deliver our promise is available in the policies and procedures you can find in our Publication Scheme.