Ombudsman probes effectiveness of govt’s 1823 one-stop hotline services

The Ombudsman announced on Thursday the launch of a direct investigation to examine the effectiveness of the government’s 1823 one-stop hotline services in handling complaints and enquiries.

The hotline services, managed by the Efficiency Office, provides a one-stop service round the clock to answer public enquiries for 23 participating government departments and to receive complaints, suggestions and compliments about any area of thier services.

The government watchdog said the investigation came after they received many complaints against the hotline between January and May this year for failing to answer phone calls and suspending the processing of written enquiries and complaints.

Authorities had previously admitted that with the impact of the city’s fifth wave of Covid outbreak, the call volume of 1823 had occasionally exceeded its system capacity

“Particularly between March and May, 63 percent of calls were busied out by the system. In such cases, the callers could neither talk with an operator nor leave a voice message,” the government said in a response to lawmakers on June 15.

However, the Office of The Ombudsman said they had received complaints against 1823 for its delays or failure to answer phone calls even before the pandemic outbreak.

“In most cases, the Efficiency Office attributed such deficiencies to an influx of calls brought about by emergency incidents or the launching of new government services. Moreover, 1823’s role as a co-ordinator in handling complaint cases involving multiple departments is often called into question,” said the watchdog.

 Ombudsman Winnie Chiu Wai-yin said collecting views on government services from the public through 1823 is crucial for the Government to promote good governance and enhance the efficiency and quality of public administration.

“If 1823 is not operating effectively or part of its service is interrupted, it will not only cause inconvenience to the public, but will also impede departments’ daily work in handling public enquiries and complaints,” Chiu added.