Today marks OmbudsDay - a day to raise awareness of Ombuds Organisations and the value they add. The Ombudsman reflects on the day.
Today is my second OmbudsDay as Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces. It’s been quite the year for SCOAF as we expand our talented team and work together to deliver a quality service during challenging times.
I am extremely positive about the work we have completed and is still to come for the rest of the year. We will continue to build on our success for a strong 2023.
The theme of this year’s OmbudsDay is Resilience, Respect and Resolve. I believe SCOAF continues to demonstrate these values, and I want to use today to reflect on these themes.
My hardworking operational and business teams impress me every day with their resilience, and their ability to meet the variety of challenges presented by their work. Whether they are working to reduce our case backlog, reviewing difficult cases, delivering events, or working on policy changes, SCOAF’s staff remain absolutely committed to their work, and demonstrate a real desire to make a difference.
SCOAF is nothing without its people and I’m proud to manage an organisation that puts respect at the heart of its work. We are a diverse and inclusive organisation, that seeks to involve staff across all levels in the decisions that affect them. The same applies to the personnel who use our service, and our Customer Charter sets out how we treat all our customers with the respect they deserve.
Finally, SCOAF is resolute in our mission to provide independent oversight of the Service Complaints system. We act with integrity and impartiality, being clear about where improvements need to be made to the system.
Whilst I am immensely proud of what has been achieved to date, and I firmly believe that all SCOAF staff embody these values of this year’s OmbudsDay, I recognise there is still more to do. We remain more motivated than ever to help build a Service complaints system that is efficient, effective, and fair.
- Mariette Hughes, Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces
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