PHS Ombudsman

Caker wrote:

If you wish to escalate a complaint to the ombudsman, is it necessary to pursue it via your own MP, or can you approach a different one?

Yes you can.

If you don’t agree with the response from the Independent Case Examiner, you can ask your MP (or any other MP) to send your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure

You can ask a person in a different constituency to represent you.

Also, how long do you have from receiving the ICE outcome to escalating the complaint?

The www.ombudsman.org.uk info' appears to suggest that complaints should be escalated within a year of the incident complained of, but ICE provided a final response 18 months after the complaint. That is not within my control.

Within the complaint form there is section for you to provide reasons why you could not complain within 1 year.
If you haven’t been able to complain to us within a year of becoming aware of the problem, please tell us why you did not complain sooner
https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint/complain-us-getting-started/complaint-forms

This is a handy tool:
https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint#complaint-checker

The staff are very helpful if you need further assistance:
Call 0345 015 4033
8:30am - 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Thanks, in anticipation.