Cyflwynwyd gan:Cyng/Cllr. Nia Jeffreys, Cyng/Cllr. Dilwyn Morgan and Cyng/Cllr. Dafydd Meurig
Decision:
I.
To adopt a new
complaints procedure for the Council in accordance with Appendix 1.
II.
To designate the Head
of Corporate Support as the Responsible Officer.
III.
To accept the annual
reports and the Ombudsman's Annual Letter.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by Cllr Dafydd Meurig
DECISION
I.To
adopt a new complaints procedure for the Council in accordance with Appendix 1.
II.To
designate the Head of Corporate Support as the Responsible Officer.
III.To accept the annual reports and the Ombudsman's
Annual Letter.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted noting that there
were many elements to the report. The complaints element of the Adults Department was highlighted, noting that it was standard to submit an annual
complaints report. It was expressed that there were two
steps for complaints, namely a local resolution and then a full
investigation. It was emphasised
that the department was learning lessons following each complaint and using
them to improve the service. It was added that although the report focused on complaints, it also acknowledged the good work being
done within the department with a specific section in the report highlighting
the good comments that had been received.
The Monitoring Officer noted that the first recommendation in the report asked
the Cabinet to adopt a new complaints procedure, emphasising that this procedure was specific for corporate
complaints. It was expressed
that the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Act 2019 introduced a statutory basis for the complaints
arrangements of public service providers in Wales. It was added that the model reflected the procedure that had been adopted
by the Council in 2014, and so only
minor changes would need to be done. It was also reiterated that the Monitoring Officer would step back and that
the Head of Corporate
Support Department would be
designated as the Responsible
Officer.
Observations arising from the discussion
¾ The need for an implementation
timetable was noted.
¾ It was expressed that the Children and Supporting
Families Department had prioritised complaints. It was added that they
had placed emphasis on providing information about how to complain
to residents and offering a hand-holding service for residents
who complained in order to give
individuals full support. It was highlighted that the number of complaints in step 1 had arisen as a result of the department recording each enquiry it received. It was elaborated that the department received a quarterly comprehensive report and analysed the complaints in order
to improve the service.
¾
The Head of Corporate Support Department noted that a reduction had been seen in
complaints, but now, there was a measure in place
to measure how many days it took
to deal with a complaint. Furthermore, it was explained that it took approximately 7 days to deal with
a complaint.
¾ In terms of
the comment on clause 7.3 of the report on complaints in
the Adults field, it was asked why action on the Ombudsman's recommendations had been delayed when the main recommendations falling on the Council were to apologise and remind staff of the importance of assessments. The officer noted that she
did not have the answer and that she
would investigate and inform the Chief Executive of the reasons.
¾ It was emphasised that the nature of some services meant that they received
more complaints but that lessons were
being learnt from each complaint.
¾ It was expressed
that the positive statistics and comments were encouraging and staff were
thanked for their work.
Awdur:Morwena Edwards, Iwan Evans and Geraint Owen
Supporting documents: