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.
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.
