It’s only 19 days in for the new Government and today it announced its agenda for the coming year in the Queen’s Speech. This is a key time for those of us looking to make things work better for you.
Some meaty issues important for those who use public services have been put on the table.
After a year of campaigning by Which?, the Government has announced its intention to create a new Public Service Ombudsman replacing the current fragmented system.
Why reform of the public service complaints system is vital
Before the election, we raised with the party leaders the need for them to commit to reform the public service complaints system.
This was after we found that 5.3 million people who had a problem with a public service didn’t complain, and key reasons for not complaining were because they felt they would be victimised or nothing would be done to resolve their complaint.
More than 83,000 people now support our campaign, and 14,000 people have submitted stories and evidence to Which?. These have helped us to argue for the reforms to be brought forward. We’re one step closer to making complaints count in public services.
There are still gaps in the system, though. One of which is in childcare. We want further reforms to the complaints system, and for childcare to be included in the remit of the new Public Service Ombudsman.
Currently, there is nowhere parents can turn to get redress if they have a problem with their childcare provider – one thing we want to solve through the new Ombudsman.
Childcare Bill in the Queen’s Speech
The Government also announced a Childcare Bill in the Queen’s Speech, which will increase the entitlement to free childcare to 30 hours a week for parents of three and four-year-olds.
This will be a welcome helping hand to parents dealing with the eye-watering cost of childcare. But this should be just the start of the reforms.
We want parents to have access to better information about the quality of nurseries and childminders, and for it to be easier to complain when things go wrong.
Are you a parent who uses childcare? Tell us how you decided on a childcare provider. Where did you get information from to help with your decision?