According to a Home Office leaflet which I picked up from my local library, the Human Rights Act applies to all public bodies and to organisations which carry out a public function. Walter Merrick, the chief Ombudsman, has I believe conceded in a press interview that this means that the Ombudsmen are subject to the terms of the HRA. Article 6 gives everyone the right to a fair, impartial and *public* hearing, *within a reasonable time*. I would have thought that it was 'fair' to expect a 'duty of care' from the Ombudsman.(posted 8401 days ago)