acted differently had they not been misinformed. The Secretary of State for Social Security, Alistair Darling accepted the report and announced that the changes to the inheritance provisions would be postponed until 2002 and that the Government would establish a scheme which would protect the pensions rights of those who had been misinformed. After a Select Committee report, the scheme was abandoned and Darling announced a new set of proposals giving full protection to every pensioner and introducing a transitional arrangement for those approaching retirement age. Buckley wrote a second report on the issue, published in February 2001. In it, he expressed satisfaction that the Government's proposals would correct the effects of past maladministration, giving time for those approaching retirement to adjust their financial arrangements. The Government undertook to mount a publicity campaign and to write to all pensioners and those coming up to retirement age. Buckley replicated the practice of delegation for health investigations, arguing that it was a necessary decision given the increasing numbers of complaints about clinical judgment, which had only just been brought within the remit of the Ombudsman. The nature of the role of Health Service Ombudsman, it was commented, changed fundamentally during Buckley's tenure. More than four-fifths of the health investigations it undertook concerned clinical judgment, a radical change from the previous concern with maladministration and service failure. Buckley developed a more business-orientated approach to the handling of health cases and oversaw a smooth transition to coping with the extended jurisdiction over clinical judgment matters. Buckley concluded at the end of his tenure that the Office had come a long way under his stewardship. He observed that the mountainous backlogs have been cleared. Output records have consistently been broken... There is a larger and more flexible range of tools for dealing with complaints... there have been fundamental changes in organisation, in employment policies, in training and development. Post-Ombudsman and personal life He was knighted in the 2002 New Year Honours. After serving as Ombudsman, Buckley became a member of the General Medical Council, serving between 2003 and 2008. References Ombudsmen in the United Kingdom People from Beckenham People educated at Eltham College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Bachelor 1939 births Living people