Ms A complained that Powys County Council refused to escalate her social services complaint to the second stage of the statutory complaints procedure.
The Ombudsman decided that the Council had wrongly determined that the complaint fell outside the statutory procedure, and it had provided Ms A with inaccurate information. The Ombudsman said that this caused delays and frustration for Ms A. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to apologise to Ms A, offer her redress of £250, and proceed with a stage 2 complaint investigation. Further, to ensure relevant staff are reminded of complainants’ rights and to review the accuracy of information provided to complainants, within 10 working days.