Mario Hook, Gibraltar’s Public Services Ombudsman, is a man who clearly enjoys his job.
Together with a dedicated and close-knit staff, his role is to investigate complaints stemming from the administration of public bodies and entities providing public services.
These range from serious grievances about housing, to minor objections about the size of water bills. In this office, however, all matters are treated equally.
“Even if a problem is small in nature, it can be a major source of concern for the person involved,” Mr Hook said. “We look at all complaints in detail.”
In recent years, the bulk of the work has involved issues relating to housing.
There were extreme cases on occasion, including instances of homelessness. Other times, it was simply a case of a complainant wanting the housing allocation system to work faster.
Mr Hook praised the Housing Department for its work and said the service it provides had improved greatly over the years.
New housing legislation means that although the Ombudsman retains a role in this sphere, members of the public now have other means of recourse to have their grievances addressed. These include two tribunals set to hear housing appeals and cases involving anti-social behaviour.
Mr Hook feels proud that he and his staff have contributed to a process of continued improvement in the administration of public services, not just on housing issues but across many areas of public administration.
“The Ombudsman has definitely had a positive impact on the way public administration operates in Gibraltar,” he said.
His obvious passion for the job was clearly illustrated last January. After five years in the post Mr Hook requested, and was granted, a further three-year extension to his contract.
Helping others in the community provides a high level of job satisfaction for Mr Hook and his team, though sometimes the work can be frustrating and emotionally draining, and take its toll.
“There is no doubt that Gibraltar is a prosperous community with many services that are not available in other communities,” he said.
“But the Ombudsman’s office, by its nature, provides a complaints’ mechanism and that means that we see these extreme cases that the normal citizen does not see.”
“It isn’t that these cases are rife, because Gibraltar is a very caring community. It’s just that they come to us.”
Under Gibraltar law, the Ombudsman and his team have very wide powers of investigation. Mr Hook said experience had shown him that public bodies tend to cooperate fully with any investigation and welcome constructive criticism.
His decisions and recommendations are not legally enforceable, but Mr Hook said officials have always responded well to feedback from his office.
Ultimately, it’s about highlighting issues in a proactive, positive way based on the findings of an impartial and thorough investigation in which all sides of argument are heard.
“The secret is simply to conduct a thorough, objective investigation,” he said.
Mr Hook and his team keep in close contact with Ombudsmen in other countries, providing input and tracking developments that might be relevant to Gibraltar.
But he said the current framework here compares very favourably to that in place in other jurisdictions.
He highlights two issues that he feels may nevertheless warrant a closer look in the future.
One relates to that fact that, under the present legislation, the Ombudsman cannot initiate his own investigations and can only react to a complaint filed by a member of the public.
The ability to initiate an ‘Own Motion Investigation’ would on occasion bolster the work carried out by his office and is something that regulators may want to consider, he said.
Another area that he feels may merit closer attention is the possibility of creating the post of Financial Services Ombudsman, similar to the office that already exists in other jurisdictions including the UK.
Mr Hook finds that on occasion, complainants come to him seeking help with grievances involving insurance claims, banking anomalies and the like. His remit, however, means that he is unable to provide assistance in those cases.
Mr Hook believes that the importance of the finance centre to Gibraltar’s economy suggests there may be scope for a Financial Services Ombudsman who deals specifically with that sector.
“It’s a possibility, though it would need very careful thought and planning,” he said.
“Ultimately, it’s like a seal of guarantee that shows the industry is open to being scrutinised, and I think it would be welcomed.