Ms D complained that Powys County Council failed to change the appointed investigator into her complaint despite raising concerns about impartiality.
The Ombudsman found that the Council refused to change the investigator, despite Ms D raising concerns about a personal conflict when it could have been appropriate for the Council to change the appointed investigator due to a perception of bias. She said this caused frustration to Ms D and decided to settle the complaint without an investigaton.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to, write to Ms D with an apology for the failure to change the appointed investigator, appoint a new investigator and conduct a fresh investigation and issue a complaint response within 4 weeks.