This was one of a number of recommendations issued by national ombudsman Claudia Monti on Monday, when she shared the 2019 service report—later than usual as a result of the pandemic.

Monti highlighted that public administrations could do more to inform citizens about the possibility to lodge an appeal against an unfavourable decision. Other recommendations included creating a second type of parking card for people who have a health problem or disability but which is not defined in the grand ducal regulation. She said that a similar card system already exists in Germany. Meanwhile, she pointed out the difficulties facing couples who make a joint tax declaration after a separation. In these cases, the joint application procedure should be reviewed, she said.

In 2019, Monti and her team handled 975 complaints from citizens who felt their cases were not treated properly by public administrations. These included a rejection of student financial aid, a qualification being refused recognition, a refusal to issue a parking card for a person with health issues and reclassification of unemployment benefits.

Monti said that the complainants expressed a sense of injustice that was exacerbated by standardised answers from administrations, incomprehensible jargon, a lack of information and strict application of the regulations. The complaints raised in this report will be handled by the relevant parliamentary committees, which will present a position paper.

The 2020 ombudsman’s report is expected to be published in July 2021.