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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH

Contact: Glynda O'Brien  01341 424301

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Items
No. Item

1.

ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

To elect a Chairman for this Committee for 2018-19.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Resolved:         To re-elect Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams as Chair of this Committee for the year 2018-19.

 

2.

ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN

To elect a Vice-Chairman for this Committee for 2018-19.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Resolved:         To elect Councillor Dewi Wyn Roberts as Vice-chair of this Committee for the year 2018/19.

 

3.

APOLOGIES

To receive any apologies for absence.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from  Councillors Annwen Daniels, Anwen Jane Davies, Siân Wyn Hughes, Cai Larsen, Rheinallt Puw and Peter Read. 

 

 

4.

DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Eryl Jones-Williams declared a personal interest in Item 6 - Social Services Complaints Arrangements as his wife received care and he would withdraw from the Chamber should a specific discussion regarding home care issues take place.

 

5.

URGENT BUSINESS

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

No urgent items were received.

 

6.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 112 KB

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee held on 20 April 2018, be signed as a true copy.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman signed the minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 30 April 2018, as a true record.  

 

7.

SOCIAL SERVICES' COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE pdf icon PDF 478 KB

Cabinet Member:   Councillor W. Gareth Roberts

 

To receive a report on the above.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being outlining the administration of complaints by the Adults, Health and Well-being Department during 2017-2018, and it was noted that this Council was amongst the best in north Wales in terms of resolving and dealing with complaints.

 

Members were given an opportunity to scrutinise the contents of the report and they highlighted the following points:

 

(i)               The examples of letters of thanks within the contents of the report were welcomed and they were extremely heartening, and it was asked what in the opinion of the Cabinet Member was the role of the scrutineers?   

 

In response, it was explained that the submission of the report to the Scrutiny Committee was a transparent procedure and that it was possible for Members to offer comments on the contents that would be submitted as part of the report to the Cabinet.   The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being was fairly confident that the Cabinet was challenging.  The Head of the Adults, Health and Well-being Department added that the scrutiny role was key and there was an emphasis by national agencies to ensure that Members were aware of what is happening within the system and the type of complaints received.   

 

(ii)              It was asked if there were any trends / patterns to the complaints received?  

 

In response, it was explained that if the relevant officer saw any trends, he/she would initially raise awareness of the issue with the Departmental Management Team and the Corporate Director.  Quarterly reports were provided and there was a tendency for the complaints to relate to the shortage of home carers and national issues such as financial thresholds. 

 

The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being added that the number of complaints was not important, but rather what was the exact nature of the complaint and what was done to overcome any problems.  An assurance was given that the Department took every complaint seriously and sought to resolve any problems promptly.

 

(iii)             It was asked if there was a more practical role for the Elected Members at a grass-roots level?     

In response, it was explained that it would be possible for them to report on complaints directly to the Department following surgeries in their wards, and this could be added to the arrangement.  However, it had to be considered that there were specific arrangements and processes to be followed.

 

(iv)   It was asked how a complaint / enquiry was defined?

 

In response, Members' attention was drawn to the examples in Table 2 of the report and it was noted that many contacted Assembly Members / Members of Parliament and most involved the lack of available home care.  The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being added that the Department was proactive and accepted any challenge and sought to resolve problems the to the best of their ability.  This was reflected in the number of complaints that had proceeded to step 2 or to the Ombudsman.  

 

(v)              Reference was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.