Mr & Mrs A complained about how Powys County Council (“the Council”) handled safeguarding concerns involving their daughter. The Council declined to investigate as the complaint fell outside of the relevant timescales laid out in the Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) 2014 (“the Procedure”).
When the Ombudsman looked at the complaint, she recognised that whilst the Council were correct in its assertion about the timescales in the Procedure, that some of Mr & Mrs A’s concerns were within the relevant timescales for consideration.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to within 2 weeks, contact Mr & Mrs A to establish the scope of the complaint investigation, then within 4 weeks of agreement to respond to the elements of the complaint which are in time for the Council’s consideration.