Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
This page contains information about the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes
What it does
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales investigates complaints about all public services in Wales.
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales can consider complaints about a wide range of matters, including:
- Social services
- Planning
- Education
- Council housing
- Social housing (housing associations)
- Hospital services
- GPs, dentists, opticians and other health service providers
Over the last year (2008-09) the highest number of complaints (21%) were health-related, 19% were about housing and anti-social behaviour, 18% were about planning and building control, and 8% were about social services.
The Ombudsman can also consider complaints about services provided by community councils, and complaints that local authority councillors, including community councillors, have not kept to their authority's code of conduct.
If you are not sure about whether the Ombudsman can look at your complaint, you can call their helpline on 0845 601 0987.
Complaints about local authorities in England are dealt with by the Local Government Ombudsman; in Scotland by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman; and in Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Ombudsman.
Complaints about registered social landlords in England are dealt with by the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Complaints about NHS provision in England are dealt with by the Health Service Ombudsman, and in Scotland by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Complaints about health services or about the Department of Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland are considered by the Northern Ireland Ombudsman.
Complaints about councillors in local government in England are covered by the Standards for England.
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Advantages
- it is independent of the organisations that are the subjects of the complaints it handles
- the investigation is private
- it is free
- its recommendations are usually complied with
- it is possible to get a thorough investigation - to find out what happened
- a wide range of remedies is possible
- it can influence good practice and procedures within public bodies
- it is not adversarial
Disadvantages
- it can take time to get a decision in cases where a formal public report is issued – fewer than half of cases are concluded within six months
- using it can mean losing the right to seek judicial review if the investigation takes too long and so the application is out of time
- its recommendations are not binding
It is important to remember that the ombudsman is not an advocate for complainants but an independent investigator. It may also not be the best place to get significant financial compensation for an individual - the primary aim of the scheme is to remedy an injustice, and to influence good practice by councils.
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Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
The ombudsman can investigate complaints about being treated unfairly, or receiving a bad service through some failure on the part of the body providing it (‘maladministration’). Maladministration refers to a fault in the way a public body has made a decision or done something. For more information, have a look at What is maladministration? on this site.
The ombudsman cannot by law investigate complaints about some things - these include:
- properly made decisions that a public body or a provider of public services has a right to make even if the complainant does not agree with the decision
- personnel matters such as staff appointments, pay or discipline
- the level of rent or service charges
- most commercial or contractual matters
- teaching, curriculum, conduct, discipline and management in schools and colleges
Complaints about registered social landlords can be made by tenants, leaseholders, or by others who are not tenants, but are personally affected by the landlord's failure to act.
The decision or action must have caused injustice to the complainant. An injustice might be financial loss, a delay in receiving a service, or distress. If the ombudsman considers that the injustice is minor, or that an investigation would not result in a worthwhile outcome, he might not agree to investigate the complaint.
You should also note that if the complaint can be taken to court, or if there is a statutory right of appeal, the ombudsman can refuse to investigate it, unless he thinks that this would be unreasonable.
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Cost
The scheme is free to complainants.
Legal representation is not needed, but you might want to get independent advice before making a complaint. If you are looking for a significant amount of compensation (perhaps for a medical injury) you will need to think carefully, with help from an adviser, about whether to go to the ombudsman or go to court. You can't do both at the same time.
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Timescale
The ombudsman normally expects a complaint to be made within twelve months of the complainant becoming aware of the problem. If time has already been spent complaining directly to the body concerned, the ombudsman will make allowance for that. Otherwise he will not accept a late complaint unless there is a good reason.
During the year 2008-09:
- 15% of cases were concluded within 3 months
- 33% in 3 – 6 months
- 17% in 6 – 9 months
- 12% in 9 – 12 months
- 23% took longer than a year
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Procedure
As with all ombudsman schemes, you should first complain directly to the organisation concerned, so they have the chance to respond. If you are still unhappy with the way they have dealt with your complaint, you can go to the ombudsman
Making the complaint
You should make your complaint in writing, in Welsh or English. You should include copies of any letters to or from the body you are complaining about. You can make your complaint online, or download a complaints form to complete and post. There is a link to the website at the bottom of this page.
If you need help with making your complaint, you can ask a friend or an adviser to complain on your behalf, or phone the ombudsman helpline on 0845 601 0987.
In your complaint, you should say what the organisation has done wrong, how it has caused you personal injustice, and what you think should be done to put things right.
Note: The ombudsman might get in touch with you to ask questions, or to request more information. But he might also make a decision based on your written complaint. So make sure you are as clear as possible, and send in any information you have in support of your complaint.
Initial screening
Someone from the ombudsman’s team will decide whether your complaint can be accepted. The aim is to let everyone know this within 4 weeks, but during 2008-09 only 64% of people got an answer in this time. Two thirds of complaints are rejected because the complaint has not first been made to the body concerned, or because it is outside the time limit, or it is a matter that could go to another forum such as a court or tribunal.
Settlement and investigation
There are two ways for a complaint to be resolved by the ombudsman: settlement and investigation.
Ombudsman staff will try to resolve disputes informally at an early stage, if possible. Last year, 65 out of 260 complaints were settled through a ‘quick fix’ of this kind. It is the ombudsman team who will decide whether or not to go ahead with an investigation, or whether the settlement offer is reasonable.
If an appropriate settlement cannot be reached, or if the issue has a wider public interest, the ombudsman's office may decide to carry out an investigation into the complaint.
Once the investigation is complete, the ombudsman will issue a report. Remember that the ombudsman's investigation is independent; in some cases the complaint will be upheld, and in some it will not be supported. The report is published, although the complainant is not identified.
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Outcomes
During the year 2008-09:
- 876 complaints were rejected
- 241 were started but discontinued
- 45 were withdrawn
Of the cases which were accepted and completed:
- 65 were settled though a ‘quick fix’
- 55 were not upheld
- 115 were upheld in whole or in part
- 25 were upheld and a public interest report published
Where the ombudsman upholds a complaint, he usually recommends not only a remedy for the injustice but also steps that the authority should take to avoid the same problem happening again.
The ombudsman can recommend financial compensation, but it is not usually very high. The aim is to put you in the position you would have been in if there had been no service failure.
Although the recommendations are not binding, it is rare for a body not to follow them. If a body does fail to comply with the ombudsman's recommendations, the ombudsman can issue a further report and can require a statement to be published indicating that it has failed to implement the recommendations.
There is no appeal against an ombudsman's recommendation, but you can still go to court with the original complaint if you are not happy with the outcome.
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Revised July 2009
