Dr Jane Martin has been appointed as Local Government Ombudsman. She took up her post in the Coventry office on 11 January 2010.

Dr Martin was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Communities Secretary John Denham. She brings many years’ experience of local government and the wider public sector to the post. She was Director of Policy and Engagement and Deputy Chief Executive of the Local Better Regulation Office before joining the LGO. Previously she was Executive Director of the Centre for Public Scrutiny and has held a number of roles in the public sector and academia.

“I take up the role at a key moment for the LGO which will face considerable change in the year to come as new jurisdictions are absorbed,” said Dr Martin. “I want to make sure that we build on already excellent service standards and, where necessary, make improvements, in order to meet the new challenges.

“In a changing environment it is also critical that we maintain trust and confidence in the service – from members of the public, local authorities and other public bodies. So I particularly want to focus on quality assurance, ensuring the service is accessible, consistent and fair, and that we take all reasonable steps to be a transparent and responsive organisation.

“While our core business remains the investigation of complaints of maladministration, I believe there is considerable scope to develop the service, working with others, as a catalyst for change and improvement in the effective administration of public services.”

Dr Martin joins two other Local Government Ombudsmen, Tony Redmond and Anne Seex, who together provide a service for investigating complaints by members of the public who consider that they have been caused injustice by the administrative actions of local authorities and other bodies within their jurisdiction. They also have a role in maximising the value of their investigations by using that expertise to provide advice and guidance to local authorities on good administrative practice that helps improve their services.

Over the next year, their jurisdiction will expand into two new areas covering complaints about self-funded adult social care and the internal management of schools.

Dr Martin succeeds Jerry White who left in September. She is also Vice Chair of the Commission for Local Administration in England, the official title of the Local Government Ombudsman service.

Jane Martin began her career at the University of Birmingham, School of Education, where she conducted research into delegated management and administration of schools and worked extensively with school governing bodies across the UK. Following a period as a local authority education officer she joined the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government (IDeA) in London and worked with local authorities across the country to support improvement. Her experience of developing the new political arrangements introduced in the Local Government Act 2000 led to her appointment as the first executive director of the Centre for Public Scrutiny in 2003. She has more recently returned to academia to study public leadership at Warwick Business School followed by appointment as deputy chief executive at the Local Better Regulation Office in Birmingham in 2007. She has spent several years herself as a school governor and was a non-executive director of Coventry Primary Care Trust until December 2009. Throughout her career she has promoted the importance of effective public accountability and greater public engagement in public sector organisations, and has wide practical experience of the administration of public services at the local level. She has a PhD in education administration.

Article date: 15 January 2010