This is an extract from You and Your MP, House of Commons Information Office Factsheet M1 (pdf).
Many people think that their MP is there to solve all their problems for them: this is not the case. MPs are there to help only with those matters for which Parliament or central government is responsible. Problems often arise with work carried out by central government departments and your MP will be able to help you with such areas as:
• Tax problems involving the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise Departments (but not the council tax which is paid to your local authority);
• Problems dealt with by the Department of Health such as hospitals and the National Health Service (but not problems with the social services department of your local authority);
• Problems dealt with by the Department for Work and Pensions such as benefits, pensions and national insurance;
• Problems dealt with by the Home Office such as immigration and matters such as school closures and grants which are dealt with by the Department for Education and Skills (but not day to day problems involving schools which are run by their governors and your local education authority).
Your MP is not there to help you in private disputes with neighbours, with an employer, with family matters or with companies who have sold you faulty goods; nor, for example, can they interfere with decisions made by courts.
Constituents often take a problem to their MP because they do not know who else could help them. MPs are very generous at giving help and advice and will often have a local councillor at their constituency surgeries to help those constituents whose problems are connected with the services provided by local authorities such as dustbins, housing repairs or public lavatories. If you feel that your problem really concerns the council rather than central government, then you should contact your local council or councillor. Your local library or town hall should be able to provide you with your councillor’s name and contact information. If your problem is of a more general nature or you are uncertain where to go for advice, then your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to guide you. Alternatively, your council may run its own general advice centre or be able to direct you towards an independent centre.
Your MP will try to be as helpful as he or she can but, since he or she has around 67,000 constituents to look after and his or her Parliamentary duties to attend to, this will place limits on the amount of time which can be spent in the constituency. It is then important that they spend their time dealing with problems that relate to them, rather than diverting queries that should have been taken elsewhere.
How does your MP deal with your problems?
Where your problem does involve central government, your MP has a number of methods available to try to resolve the matter:
• A letter from your MP to the relevant department or official will often provide a solution;
• Your MP may decide to take matters a stage further by writing to the Minister involved;
• Your MP may make an appointment to see the Minister personally.
Many constituents’ problems can be solved in this way but not all problems, of course, have an easy solution. The Minister may not be able to give the answer that you wanted to hear but if the decision has been made in the right way, there may be little that can be done. If, on the other hand, there has been unnecessary delay, or if some essential procedure has been missed out, i.e. if there has been maladministration, your MP may be able to take your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (also called the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration). She is sometimes able to resolve such cases where there has been administrative incompetence. The Ombudsman can only be approached via your MP, you cannot approach her directly. The Health Service Ombudsman can provide similar help where the problem involves the NHS. The two Ombudsman posts are currently both held by the same person and have a website at the following address: www.ombudsman.org.uk
There is also a Commissioner for Local Administration (Local Government Ombudsman) who deals with possible maladministration in local government matters. A complainant must give the council concerned an opportunity to deal with a complaint against it first. It is best to use the council’s own complaints procedure, if it has one. If the complainant is not satisfied with the action the council takes, he or she can send a written complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, or ask a councillor to do so on their behalf. More details are given on the website of the Local Government Ombudsman at: www.lgo.org.uk
Parliamentary material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO on behalf of Parliament.
