The Annual Report of the Ombudsman for 2016 has been completed and will be released to the public after Parliament reconvenes.

According to a statement by the office of the Ombudsman, the report has been submitted to the Office of the Speaker of the House and will be released publicly once tabled in the House.

“In 2016, the Office of the Ombudsman received 285 requests for assistance,” the statement said. “This included 157 new complaints.

“It also received and dealt with a total of 128 enquiries in 2016. Enquiries are instances when people contacted the Office to seek information without making a complaint. Most enquiries were addressed immediately, but sometimes more time was needed to provide the person with guidance.

“In addition to the 285 cases received in 2016, the Office continued to address 70 complaints that remained open on January 1, 2016. The complexity of some complaints meant more time was required to resolve them. In total, the Office worked to address 355 complaints in 2016.”

The statement said that there were no systematic investigations launched in 2016, with the office instead focusing on individual complaints, addressing outstanding complaints and working to improve turnaround times.

Ombudsman Victoria Pearman said: “The work of this Office includes bridging differences and disconnections between members of the public and the authorities whose job it is to serve them.

“Ombudsmen focus on protecting people from unfair actions and bad administrative decisions.

“When complainants bring matters to our attention, where necessary our Office adds volume to their voices to ensure they are heard and appropriate attention is given to them.

“Ombudsmen connect the parties and seek to build understanding and promote fairness.”

The report will be made available online at www.ombudsman.bm after it has been tabled in the House of Assembly.