Concerns over CCTV camera monitoring prison complaint box

Ombudswoman Maria-Stylianou Lottides receives between 2,000 to 2,500 complaints per year, mostly concerning benefits, and asylum matters, she said in parliament on Wednesday.

Attending the House Institutions committee, she specified the health ministry as well as the deputy ministries of welfare, migration, featured prominently in her 2022 report.

Among the most serious complaints are delays in applications, delays in benefit payments and responses towards members of the public.

MPs backed up her observation over delays, saying they spend a significant chunk of their day mediating between citizens and state services, as members of the public are plagued by delays in getting responses.

Lottides said compliance with her instructions is at 53 per cent, while 23 per cent is moving towards compliance.

In 22 per cent of cases, there has been no compliance at all.

Overall, Lottides said her 2022 report was similar with the previous two years, though she said coordination and communication between government issues was a recurring issue, leading to delays that citizens pay the price for.

The ombudswoman flagged an issue over the prisons, where the complaint box is monitored with a CCTV camera.

She said that could be a reason there was a drop in complaints filed.

Lottides specified she told the prisons management to remove it, which they said they would.