Ombudsman ends inquiry into Stuðlar safety certificate

Iceland’s Parliamentary Ombudsman has ended an examination into whether a safety inspection certificate existed for an extension to the Stuðlar emergency accommodation facility, mbl.is reports.

The building official had granted temporary permission to use the building after certain conditions had been met. Those conditions had already been fulfilled.

However, the case prompted the Ombudsman to send the Child and Family Authority a notice concerning its responsibility for Stuðlar and other homes and institutions operated under child protection legislation.

According to the notice, the authority has professional and financial oversight of these facilities. That responsibility may include ensuring that external conditions meet safety requirements or, where appropriate, stopping operations in a building considered unsafe.

When responding to such circumstances, officials must take into account that the facilities house children in vulnerable situations who have also been deprived of their freedom in a closed setting under the responsibility of the state.

The Ombudsman also reminded the minister of education and children’s affairs that the same considerations apply to the ministry’s response when it receives information about similar circumstances.