Childrens Social Services : Powys County Council

Mr B complained to Powys County Council, on behalf of his client, Mr C, about its Social Services and Legal Department, and particularly about its lack of response to correspondence, which hindered the preparation of Mr C’s case in respect of care proceedings. Mr B received 2 complaint responses from the Council, which concluded that his complaints were not upheld. Mr B complained to the Ombudsman about the handling of his complaints, and the accuracy and content of the Council’s responses.

The Ombudsman found that Mr B’s challenges to the Council’s complaint response appeared to be valid. An example of this included the Council’s conclusion that it had not failed to respond to his correspondence, when Mr B said he had evidence of some 27 emails which went unanswered. She considered that it would be reasonable for the Council to provide a full response to Mr B’s challenges.

In resolution of Mr B’s complaint, the Council agreed to provide him with a further written response which specifically addressed the challenges / comments he raised in his submission to the Ombudsman in respect of the veracity of the 2 Council’s complaint responses. Additionally, the Council agreed to provide a written response to Mr B, addressing matters which had arisen since the provision of its second complaint response.