Disingenuous - Cyngor Gwynedd Council - 2019.

Well it has been a while coming but the Ombudsman for Wales has finally completed its investigation into Cyngor Gwynedd Council.

Council officer's and senior managers did indeed interfere with a Statutory Complaints Procedure and the Independent Investigating Officer used the words "bullied" and "overwhelmed" to express how her dealings with the senior management team had made her feel.

The Ombudsman's Report also highlights a lack of knowledge of Procedure AND Law by the Children and Family Department and their solicitors. Something we have been saying for years now.

Our attempts to raise concerns have been thwarted by council officer's gas lighting us to Councillors and even our MP. Our case has not been helped by the personal relationships and history between them all.

The first Ombudsman's Report (2018) showed serious failings within the Children and Family department from 2010 through to 2016 and also highlighted serious failings with the Customer Complaints department. So serious the Ombudsman advised that ALL those involved undergo retraining in all aspects of Statutory procedures. (This has still not been complied with)

We have been informed that the council have still not complied with other aspects of the Ombudsman's Recommendations which begs the question what happens when a council reneges on its promises to individuals and Government Agencies ?

This second Ombudsman's report finds certain officers evidence (to its own Investigation) as "disingenuous".

From the Free Dictionary -  disingenuous
adjective artful, artificial, counterfeit, crafty, cunning, deceitful, deceiving, delusive, delusory, designing, devious, dishonest, dodging, evasive, false, false hearted, feigned, fraudulent, hypocritical, insidious, insincere, lacking frankness, lying, mendacious, misdealing, misleading, parum candidus, prevaricating, scheming, shifty, sly, spurious, tricky, truthless, uncandid, underhanded, unethical, ungenuine, unprincipled, unscrupulous, unstraightforward, untrustworthy, untruthful, wanting in candor, wily, without truth

The above adjectives perfectly describe our experience of dealing with certain officers of Gwynedd Social Services.....

Our concerns with an officer - responsible for redacting and censoring our personal information - leaving the council, not being interviewed during the Investigation and then rejoining the council after the interviews had been completed were NOT investigated by the Ombudsman.

Nor has the Ombudsman answered our fears that Care Records and Reports have been subject to cherry picking and revision in order to support the false narrative senior managers have constructed to cover for the failings that two Independent Investigations and now two Ombudsman's Reports have uncovered - over 10 years.

Lessons learnt ?

There is something seriously wrong within Gwynedd Council.

Complaint Against Gwynedd Council - 6 Of 6.

The customer care and complaints department at Cyngor Gwynedd council continue to remain silent in regard to our complaint first raised in May, last year on the advice of the Ombudsman for Wales.

So this is the sixth and final point of our Stage 2 complaint  -

Despite repeated requests, (complainants) have never been offered a carers assessment by social services.

And our desired outcome -

The complainants seek a Carers Assessment to be undertaken and completed by Gwynedd County Council.

I am reminded that we had to ask Sian Gwenllian, #Plaid_Cymru AM for Arfon for help in getting the Children and Family department to respond to our request for a carer's assessment, last year.
It took Marian Parry Hughes, Department Head of Children and Family services three months to respond to the AM....

"...we had responded to the family's lawyer, by letter from Sharron Carter, Senior Operational Manager, dated March 27th setting out the reasons for not offering a carer's assessment to (Mother)"

The solicitor states this letter was never received.
More detail on this from an earlier post -  https://gwyneddsfailingcouncil.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/gwynedd-department-head-finally.html

This child has a diagnosis of Autism, PDA and the council itself has made reference to the childs 'complex needs'.

Marian Parry Hughes goes on -

"This response was sent following consultation with our legal department. Consideration was given to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Equality Act 2000 when considering our response...

 ...(childs) needs does not make him eligible to receive a care and support plan, and (...) did not reach the cirteria to be considered as a disabled child/young person under the Equality Act. Therefore, since the Act specifies that a carer's assessment is offered to carers of a disabled adult or child, we were not in a position to assess (mother) as a carer..."
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 Where is the Independent Report ?

 




                                   













 

                                                   

Challenging Behaviour At Gwynedd Council.

I wonder if the Children and Families Department in Gwynedd ever ask themselves the question "how did we get here ?"

They have had Assembly Members for Wales, Members of Parliament, District Councillors, County Councillors, the Ombudsman for Wales all notified of systemic failures in the Department and asking questions of their behaviour.

I have been astounded at how ineffectual all these people are against council managers - whom, it appears, can behave as badly and unprofessionally as they like and there is no comeback - but that is for another post.

My involvement only began, last February, after a phone conversation between my wife and a social worker.

Remembering that - Gwynedd council need to be reminded that challenging bad behaviour does not mean people are whiny bastards - it simply means they are challenging bad behaviour.