How the ombudsman can be reached

How the ombudsman can be reached; ***ALSO AVAILABLE AS FS130467016*** ENGLAND: London: ITN Studio: CS CROSSMAN SOF: (Q: Mr. Crossman, if we can start with the point where the complaint reaches the MP, why was it decided that MPs should be the filter and the public shouldn't be able to go straight to the Ombudsman?) Well I'd like to put it the other way round you see. We've already got a grievance proceedure in this country far better than for instance Sweden where they started the Ombudsman, because out MPs for generations have prided themselves on protecting the citizens and taking up his grievances. And frankly if I'd put in an official and said you shall sit in an office and citizens shall come to you and you shall then punish the man whose wrong, well the House of Commons wouldn't have stood for it, I don't think the country would either. So we had to have an official who worked for the MPs and strengthend the MPs" powers of taking up grievances. (Q: Now a bulk of grievances which reach MPs at the moment appear to be against things like local authorities, hospitals, nationalised industries, which you've excluded. Why have you limited the grievances which can go to the Ombudsman?) Well, once I've said it went to MPs we couldn't deal with local government. Clearly the Ombudsman for the G.L.C. should be somebody who does the same job for the Councillors of Greater London as Compton does for the MPs of Westminster. It's no good giving him the job of looking at grievances where the people responsible are the elected people in London not the elected people in Westminster, so that we could only give him the job of dealing with the matters where broadly MPs ask questions in Parliament. We aren't allowed in Parliament to ask questions, as you know, on a whole range of subjects because they're outside out view. So the Ombudsman covers ?hly the range of subjects of the MP, but I must admit there are some quite big omissions. For instance Servicemen's complaints, Civ...