Ombudsman’s 2022 Annual Report Tabled
The Ombudsman for Bermuda has submitted his Annual Report for 2022, noting that “the Office received 177 complaints and 36 enquiries, for a total of 213 cases in 2022. ”
A spokesperson said, “Michael DeSilva, Ombudsman for Bermuda, has submitted his Annual Report for 2022 to the Speaker of the House of Assembly in accordance with his statutory duty under the Ombudsman Act 2004. The Report was tabled in the House of Assembly this morning and is now available to the public.
“The work of the Office of the Ombudsman is divided into complaints and enquiries. Complaints involve investigations that seek to resolve issues, while enquiries are limited to providing assistance to help determine a person’s next steps. The Office received 177 complaints and 36 enquiries, for a total of 213 cases in 2022. The previous five-year average is 242 cases comprised of 170 complaints and 72 enquiries. A carry-over of 61 cases from 2021 brought this year’s total caseload to 274. 65% of the cases were either resolved, declined, referred or otherwise outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. The remaining 35% [96 cases] remained open at the start of 2023. The Annual Report provides more details about the breakdown of cases and explanations for each type of disposition.
“The Report provides a number of anonymised case summaries that highlight some of the various issues that complainants encountered with public services, explain the interventions made by the Office, and describe the insights that were gained. A series of “Did You Know?” questions and answers provide new information that came to the Office as a result of its enquiries, and which might be of general interest to the public.
“The reporting cycle includes a period of handover when, for only the second time in the Office’s 17-year history, the torch was passed from the outgoing Ombudsman to the incoming one on 28th March.”
Mr. DeSilva said, “Ms. Victoria Pearman, and before her, Ms. Arlene Brock, both served Bermuda as Ombudsman with great skill, personal commitment, and passion for their work. They established the Office as an independent and highly competent complaint-handling body. It is now my honour and privilege to hold this post and I aim to carry on the legacies of my accomplished predecessors. The mission of our Office is to protect the public interest, address complaints about public services, and drive greater accountability across the public sector.”
A spokesperson added, “During 2022, the staff reviewed their policies and procedures to consider what improvements could be made. They launched a Strategic Plan on 1st April 2023 to coincide with the new financial year. This four-year strategy includes plans to speed up the pace of casework and expand community outreach through social media and public appearances. A new case review process for 2023 has contributed to more timely progress of cases and faster resolutions. At the time of printing the Report, 25 cases carried over to 2023 had been closed, and a further 25 were identified for closure by the end of July.
“The Annual Report also highlights a collaboration with the Department of Corrections that established a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] to formalise agreed communication procedures. The MOU provides steps to ensure that inmates have unrestricted access to the Ombudsman, all communications in person, in writing and electronically remain private and confidential, and envelopes used by the Ombudsman’s Office are designed in a way that cannot be misused for unauthorised purposes.”
Mr. DeSilva said, “I am grateful to the Commissioner of Corrections, Ms. Keeva Joell-Benjamin, and her team for helping to form this MOU. Inmates are the only group of complainants who are explicitly mentioned in the Ombudsman Act 2004. Section 7[3] places a statutory obligation on both our Office and the Department of Corrections to ensure confidentiality and timeliness for inmates who wish to make a complaint. This MOU represents our agencies’ commitment to that duty and should reassure inmates that their contact with our Office is held in strict confidence.”
Mr. DeSilva added, “My colleagues and I encourage everyone to read our Annual Report to learn more about our work. We invite you to share your feedback with us, or contact us directly if you have a complaint or just a few questions to ask. Additionally, we are available to make presentations to community groups, public authorities and any interested parties. Please visit our website at www.ombudsman.bm, contact us at 296-6541 or complaint@ombudsman.bm, or follow us on Facebook at Bermuda Ombudsman.”
The full Bermuda Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 follows below [PDF here]:
