She also maximised her powers under s10(4) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 to issue special reports in order highlights significant examples of maladministration by the Government.
The first special report published by Abraham under s10(4) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 concerned NHS funding for long-term care.
It was found that numerous health authorities were using criteria that was too restrictive in determining eligibility for funding for NHS care that was not in line with that laid down by the department after the judgment in ex parte Coughlan.
The department published its national framework for determining funding eligibility in June 2007 and the number of NHS continuing care cases being handled by the Office shrunk from 1,500 in November 2007 to just 100 in March 2008.
[7] Through its rigorous reporting and active engagement with the department, the Office under Ann Abraham had helped bring about service improvement in the NHS and provide justice to those wrongly denied funding.
In March 2006, Abraham published a report into the matter – titled Trusting in the Pensions Promise[8] – under s10(3) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 following referrals by more than 200 MPs.
Complainants had sustained a sense of outrage, had lost opportunities to make informed choices or take remedial action and had suffered distress, anxiety and uncertainty.
In July 2008, Abraham published a report into the regulatory failure of the Government in its oversight of Equitable Life, which verged on collapse in 2000 and left more than a million policyholders with significantly reduced retirement savings.
[13] Equitable Life had admitted that its customers' investments were worth £3 billion more than the company's total assets, leading to insurers slashing the policies.
[16] Abraham published a follow-up report in May 2009, Injustice Unremedied,[17] under s10(3) Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 criticising the Government for rejecting her findings.
However, in July 2010 it announced that an independent commission would advise how compensation would be paid and that it could include recommendations by the retired judge Sir John Chadwick, whose methodology was rejected by Abraham.
[20] In October 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that compensation of £1.5 billion would be paid, a settlement called "woefully inadequate" by campaigners.
[21] A major initiative of Ann Abraham was that of the Ombudsman's Principles, an attempt to prevent instances of maladministration by promoting good administration.
By 2006, the Principles that she sought to promote in Government departments were agreed upon as "Getting it right", "Being customer focused", "Being open and accountable", "Acting fairly and proportionately", "Putting things right" and "Seeking continuous improvement".
The Cabinet Office had already stated that the Principles "represent common sense and good practice and that they are written in a way which staff will find relevant and helpful to their work".
In one instance, an anonymous claimant who had been born in British Malaya and interned in Singapore was told that a previous apology and payment had been given to them in error.
Abraham issued a report in September 2011, Defending the Indefensible,[27] which condemned the actions of the Ministry of Defence as "extraordinarily insensitive", "disgraceful and unfair" and "unforgivable".
In October 2005, she issued Redress in the Round[29] alongside the Local Government Ombudsman, concluding a lengthy saga between the complainants, Mr and Mrs Balchin, Norfolk County Council and the Department of Transport concerning blight caused by a proposed bypass.
Abraham observed the effects of this maladministration: "in such instances, the impact on those concerned, typically those on the very lowest incomes who are the most vulnerable in society, is huge and highly distressing".
Abraham commented that the "harrowing accounts should cause every member of NHS staff who reads this report to pause and ask themselves if any of their patients could suffer in the same way".
She warned that "the NHS must close the gap between the promise of care and compassion outlined in its Constitution and the injustice that many older people experience".