Code of conduct complaints about members of Welsh councils fall

Code of conduct complaints against members of Welsh local authorities fell slightly in 2016/17, the annual report of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has revealed.

There were 236 such complaints during the year, compared to 276 in 2015/16.

“This is encouraging considering historically, code of conduct complaints increase in the period before local elections,” the report, which can be viewed here, said.

Of the code of conduct complaints, more than a third (37%) related to maters of ‘promotion of equality and respect’. Disclosure and registration of interests (23%) and integrity (18%) were the next largest areas of complaint, which was consistent with the previous year.

The majority of these complaints were closed under the category ‘Closed after initial consideration’.

A greater number were fully investigated (34) compared to 2015/16 (27). Six cases were referred either to a local authority’s standards committee or to the Adjudication Panel for Wales. This was the same number as in the previous year.

The Ombudsman meanwhile received a total of 2,056 complaints about public sector providers, a 3% increase on the previous year.

County councils in Wales generated, as always, the most complaints due to the wide range of services they provide. However, the Ombudsman said that for the second year running there had been a decrease in the number of complaints against them, down from 906 to 881.

The report showed by contrast that there had been an 8% increase in complaints about Welsh NHS bodies.

The Ombudsman, Nick Bennett, described this continued trend as concerning and called on the Welsh Assembly to push forward with new Ombudsman legislation that he argued would help drive up standards of public service delivery.

Complaints received about health now make up 38% of the Ombudsman’s caseload, the report said. The Ombudsman has assigned Improvement Officers to five of Wales’ Health Boards – Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Aneurin Bevan, Betsi Cadwaladr, Cwm Taf and Hywel Dda.

Bennett said: “The ongoing rise in complaints about NHS bodies is concerning. A significant factor is the high volume of complaints received about Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and my Improvement Officer will continue to work with the health board to ensure continued learning.

“There is evidence of a fear and blame culture still permeating some public sector bodies and my thematic report Ending Groundhog Day: Lessons from Poor Complaint Handling highlighted key areas for improvement. However, I’m pleased that following a health complaint seminar held by my office recently, it’s clear that health board staff are keen to strengthen governance, training and data collection arrangements to improve complaints handling.

“I would urge the Assembly to push forward with the new draft Ombudsman bill in the autumn. I am confident that if passed, the new legislation will allow cycles of poor service delivery to be spotted more easily and dealt with greater efficiency.”