Cyngor Gwynedd Councillors Silent On Historic Complaints...

The Care Scrutiny Committee of Cyngor Gwynedd council received the SS annual complaints handling report last week. It is the first time the complaints report has come before scrutiny since 2019, after which the senior complaints manager was called out for misleading the committee.

One councillor mentioned he had made a complaint against social services during the pandemic and expressed his discontent with the process and urged the department to take complaints more seriously. He mentioned that the response to his Stage 2 complaint seemed to be to defend the service.

Historic complaints were reported...
As the report was written last year, but only just released, it can be presumed that these complaints stem from 2013. The scant detail given of the historic complaints against the Arfon children's team is concerning. Were the young people in care at the time? Was the safeguarding team informed?

Not one councillor of Gwynedd's Care Scrutiny Committee asked a question in relation to the two historic complaints mentioned in the SS departments report... 

People will remember the north Wales abuse scandal of the 70's through to the 1990's.
Gwynedd council sacked Alison Taylor, the social worker who blew the whistle on the abuse.,,

The scrutiny committee meeting of the 11th April was webcast and a recording can be found here -
https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/873653

The SS report states that one historic complaint can not be investigated as the social worker has left the council. This may be true but Gwynedd council has in a previous investigation, told an independent investigator that one employee could not be questioned as the officer had left the council. This officer returned to the council after the investigator had concluded her interviews with witnesses. 

In another case, the council informed investigating officers that an officer could not be questioned as they were on long term sick. Once that investigation was concluded, the officer returned to work, this time for Anglesey council...

The senior officers have also been called out for interfering in an 'independent investigation' by the Ombudsman for Wales. The investigator reported feeling bullied and overwhelmed by senior officers at a meeting held to discuss her initial report. 

Marian Parry Hughes and Aled Gibbard were the most senior officers present at this meeting alongside the social worker complained about for undertaking a fake assessment on a child. The social worker was also called out for sending what the parents called a malicious email designed, it was claimed, to cause trouble for them - this was denied...

The investigator's initial report upheld all complaints...
After this meeting, and a final third revision, this was no longer the case and only then was the report accepted by the Director of SS.
Are investigators only paid when their reports are accepted by senior officers..?

Gwynedd council's SS complaints handling has been shocking and for those who have endured the process, it appears the system has been used defensively and to protect reputational damage...

One serious complaint against an officer was downgraded to an enquiry by the former Director. Downgrading complaints means that the details are not recorded so avoiding scrutiny.
Are there more such cases?

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...

 

 

 

 

We Then Emailed Cyngor #Gwynedd Care Scrutiny Committee.

Mention has already been made of Vera Jones, Democratic Services Manager, at Cyngor Gwynedd, who was CC'd into the email sent by Medwyn Hughes, in response to our email, that raised  concerns over the mishandling of our Stage 2  'Independent' Investigation.

Mr Hughes also CC'd the following people into a further email to us -

James Gareth Huw (CG)
Jones Luned Fon
Eryl Jones-Williams

Now I am not really sure who the first two are but Eryl Jones Williams is the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee. The same committee that all councillors, bar one, were sent the below email on the 10th Sept 2018 - 

Dear Care Scrutiny Committee Members

We write in regard to the Autism Report which is to be presented to the care scrutiny committee and to bring to your attention to our own case involving our 'high functioning' autistic (******)

The Reports makes no mention of the challenges that those with 'high functioning' Autism and their families face in day to day living and that they may require exactly the same kind of support that Autistic people with additional learning disabilities need to enable them to live any kind of  full and independent life. The report focuses solely on those with a Learning Disability only, disregarding and abandoning those who are deemed 'higher functioning'.

 

Gwynedd council have for years now been talking about those people who 'fall between the cracks' in terms of support and that things were in the pipeline to help.

 

The Report(s) show that the council have not lived up their promises as their Report states that no support is to be given without there being a Learning disability. Do the council not recognise Autism as a lifelong disability ?

 

This Council seem to have little regard for the various 'acts' that are in place to ensure that appropriate and adequate assessment and support be provided for autistic individuals, regardless of their intellectual functioning, i.e the 2014 care act, 2010 Equality Act, NICE guidelines

 

We are one of those families with a 'high functioning' autistic child (soon to be adult) and part of our story is below. Every time an Independent person looks at Gwynedd council and their treatment of ASD and their families, they understand the issues and find against the council.

 

In this case, every time that there has been an Independent Investigation of the facts, it shows that the Department has failed, in many respects and has little understanding of the needs, or the assessment needs of such individuals.

 

A Senior Manager from the  Department has stated that there are no specifically autism trained social workers in this area, how then can any comprehensive assessment of an autistic person's needs be carried out in this area ?

 

We think that there are serious issues in relation to the lack of support, poor handling and inadequate assessment of autistic people and their families by this Department.

 

Briefly, this family raised a stage 2 complaint in 2010 with all points of complaint upheld but no recommendations acted upon.

 

Since 2014 we have had to endure bad and unprofessional behaviour from social workers and senior managers culminating in a stage 2 complaint raised on the 25th May, 2017.

The 'Independent' Investigation highlighted serious failings and upholding or 'not requiring to uphold'  all points of our complaint. This was presented to the council in October, 2017.

Gwynedd council refused to accept the findings and the case is currently being investigated by the Ombudsman for Wales.

 

This is on top of the recent Ombudsman's Investigation report of April, 2018 into the department that highlighted maladministration and service failure in this case dating from 2010 through to 2016.

 

Also in June 2018 a Report by a Gwynedd Council Information Manager also upheld the part of our complaint that related to a data breach - involving the release, to us,  of the names of two children receiving services from the council and Youth Justice team and the local school in Bangor they attend and also stated that redactions made to our personal information should not have been carried out.
The full Report can be found here - https://gwyneddsfailingcouncil.blogspot.com/2018/09/cyngor-gwynedd-councils-report-into.html

 

We wish to meet with and share these various reports with any members of the care scrutiny committee that share our concerns and that have any interest in challenging this department's failings in regards to our case and to question/challenge this Department's lack of understanding and proper assessment and support for autistic people in general.

 

We as parent carers of a 'high functioning' soon to be 18 year old young (******) have been recently told by social workers that there are no autism services in this area, or even vulnerable adult services. We have no place to go to ask for specialist support and advice needed as our (******) reaches into adulthood.....

 

This should be a matter for scrutiny.

                                                    *****************************

 

We had not one reply.

 

So we emailed the Scrutiny Committee once more...but that is for another post.