The Development and Food & Health Bureaux have accepted the Ombudsman's report on the handling of water seepage complaints and its recommendations on improving the Buildings and Food & Environmental Hygiene Departments' Joint Office.

In the Ombudsman's report published today the watchdog said the departments formed the Joint Office in mid-2006 to improve inter-departmental co-ordination in handling seepage complaints.

The Ombudsman has identified a number of deficiencies in the Government's recent arrangements. They include:

* difficulty in identifying seepage source;

* insufficient operational timelines;

* difficulty in entering suspected premises;

* disagreement over enforcement responsibilities;

* divergent interpretation of "nuisance";

* lax action against multiple owners;

* deficiency in the Joint Office's management information on enforcement;

* disjointed organisational structure of the Joint Office;

* ineffective management of consultants; and,

* short duration of consultant contracts.

The Ombudsman has recommended a review on the organisational structure of the Joint Office and the establishment of a mechanism to resolve departments' differences on enforcement responsibilities.