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Mr Alan Lai, The Ombudsman announces the Social Welfare Department to be the winner of the Grand Award and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Water Supplies Department the runners-up of The Ombudsman’s Awards 2012 at the  Presentation Ceremony today (31 October 2012).  On the same occasion, 41 public officers receive individual awards for their exemplary performance in providing quality customer services.  The annual event is under the spotlight with over 200 guests from Government departments and public organisations.

“More often than not, inquiries and investigations by my Office mean more work for the government departments and public organisations concerned.  Added to their already heavy workload, it would be natural for officials to think that The Ombudsman’s intervention is hampering their efficiency,” said Mr Lai.

The Ombudsman expresses his gratitude to public servants who, despite the pressure they face, adopt a positive attitude towards complaint handling and view every Ombudsman case as an opportunity for review, improvement and enhancement.  “All award recipients at this ceremony today are role models in this respect.  They deserve our recognition,” Mr Lai continued.

The tagline of The Ombudsman’s new publicity campaign is “We identify mistakes and urge for prompt corrections“.  Mr Lai said, “we are emphasising our main functions of pointing out administrative deficiencies and bringing about sustainable improvements.  The ultimate objectives are to promote good governance and raise the standard of public services.”

The winner of this year’s Grand Award, the Social Welfare Department has a large number of public enquiries and complaints due to its wide range of service provision.  Despite this, their staff are patient and sympathetic to complainants.  In dealing with investigations by The Ombudsman, the department is responsive and helpful in providing clear and comprehensive information.  Where inadequacies are found, the department readily makes improvements on its own initiative or in accordance with The Ombudsman’s recommendations.  The outstanding performance deserves recognition by The Ombudsman.

The other two winning organisations are the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Water Supplies Department.  The Ombudsman appreciates their cooperative and forthcoming attitude in response to the Office’s investigations or inquiries.  They are open-minded to recommendations and proactive in working for improvements.  Their customer oriented and positive attitude help to enhance their service quality amidst rising expectations from the public.

The Ombudsman’s Awards Scheme was introduced in 1997.  Since 1999, the Scheme has been extended to honour individual public officers for their efforts in contributing a fair, open, accountable and efficient public administration.  In 2011, the scope of the Awards is extended to recognise public officers’ efforts in handling enquiries and complaints relating to the Code on Access to Information.

A full list of the awardees this year is in the Appendix.

Office of The Ombudsman
31 October 2012

Press enquiries: 2629 0565