It was a surprise to many when the CEO of Cyngor Gwynedd council retired earlier this year during the Covid19 pandemic. Now the council are advertising for a Head of Finance...
The council are also looking to employ a solicitor or barrister to head their legal team...
In other news a person has reported finding a discarded file of various documents - a data breach ? One relates to a recent 'code of conduct' complaint made to the Ombudsman by one Gwynedd Council member about another. It appears to show that the Ombudsman has passed the matter on to the Adjudication Panel of Wales - so that will be an interesting report...
ICO Disclosure Log – Response IC-132080-Q6Y0 “What is happening with the Holden Report please?” Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA). As you are probably aware, this legislation provides public access to recorded information held by a public authority unless an appropriate exemption applies. Our response We do hold information with the scope of your request. As you may be aware the ICO issued a Decision Notice under the reference FS50882004 in June 2020 in which the Commissioner decided that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was not entitled, under section 21 or section 41 of the FOIA to withhold the requested
information which was contained within the Holden Report, and required that it be disclosed, with personal data redacted. The Health Board subsequently raised an appeal against the Commissioner’s decision which is now before the First-Tier Tribunal.
As the matter is now the subject of an appeal the Health Board is not required to disclose the report until the Tribunal issues its decision and depending on whether the Tribunal upholds the appeal or not. FOI review procedure If you are dissatisfied and wish to request a review of our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been handled you should write to the Information Access Team at the address below or e-mail icoaccessinformation@ico.org.uk. Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40 working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the Commissioner. If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint handler under the legislation. To make such an application, please write to our Customer Contact Team at the address given or visit our website if you wish to make a complaint under the FOIA.
Cyngor Gwynedd Council's Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee met on 21/10/21 to discuss the closure of Ysgol Abersoch. The decision to close the small school in December has caused much tension between locals and the council.
Concerns have been raised that the majority of the consultation
process has happened during the Covid19 pandemic and that the council's report was inaccurate and misleading...
The Cabinet Member
for Education, Cemlyn Williams, is confident the process has been fair. Can the same be said of other processes the Ed department has been involved with ? Are critical reports being sat on by this department, too ?
With the meeting going nowhere, Councillor Judith Humphreys proposed sending the matter back to the Cabinet. This did not go down well and an amendment was raised by Dewi Roberts, Councillor for Abersoch, who asked for the matter to go before full Council to hear the views of all Councillors.
Things then became a little surreal. During the vote on referring the matter to full council - one lay member seemed to freeze and stated she did not know what to do and asked for help. Democratic services had to intervene saying she could not be advised how to vote. The lay member voted against referring to full council and the amendment fell by the one vote.
The proposal to send the matter back to Cabinet - from whence it came - was passed.
The webcast of the meeting can be found here - https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/610141
There is to be a special meeting of Cyngor Gwynedd Council's Standards Committee on Tuesday, 26h October, 2021.
4. EXCLUSIONOFPRESSANDPUBLIC The Chair shall propose that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion on the following item due to the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 18C, Part 4, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. This paragraph should apply because it concerns the deliberations of the Standards Committee in reaching a finding on a matter referred to it by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. It is believed that the information should not be disclosed so that the councillor is not prejudiced by any possible publicity of the case before any hearing. Consequently the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 5.APPLICATIONFORINDEMNITYBYACOUNCILLORUNDERTHE COUNCIL'SPOLICY To consider the report of the Senior Solicitor (Corporate) (separate copy to follow for committee members only).
Are both matters related ? Usually these cases are simple spats between councillors and mostly unimportant...
The Local Authorities (Indemnities for Members and Officers) (Wales) Order 2006 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2006/249/contents/made
But a councillor asking for indemnity is not usual - is it ?
Cyngor Gwynedd Council's Cabinet Meeting took place on the 12th October. The autism plan was not passed and implemented as the Ombudsman for Wales was expecting - it was not even mentioned.
Moving on - the Cabinet meeting included discussion on the Corporate Complaints Report. It appears that this complaints process, like the Social Service complaints procedures, is undergoing much change too. The Ombudsman is involved with these changes BUT the problems are not just with the complaints process and procedures more how senior officer's interfere with the process... "The meeting was not to try and influence the outcome of the report in anyway..."
How has the complaints process been allowed to stray so far from the original Welsh Government policies and guidelines ? The data collected from complaints against council departments is used as big data and considered so important it is protected by legislation. The data can not be trusted...
The webcast of the meeting can be found here - https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/606919 Copy and paste the address into your browser. The translated feed is not available for some reason.
The translated feed for the Care Scrutiny Committee meeting on Thursday, 30th September 2021 is also not working. The link to that webcast can be found here - https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/603781/start_time/0
Some local Councillors have been complaining for a while now that they feel left out of the democratic process. How are the english speaking Councillors feeling when they can not even access the webcasts?
In other news this week, the council is seeking to be more inclusive amid claims of a 'democratic desert'
Cllr Mike Stevens - “And I do wonder if it’s because of the attitude we have of senior
officers to some of the councillors. It was said this morning at our
meeting by a very senior councillor that she felt there was no respect
from too many officers towards councillors."
More on that here - Push for more diversity of candidates in Gwynedd’s ‘democratic desert’ https://nation.cymru/news/push-for-more-diversity-of-candidates-in-gwynedds-democratic-desert
Has the 2020/21 Children and Families Annual Complaints Handling Report circumvented Gwynedd council's Care Scrutiny Committee and any issues that councillors may have wished to raise ?
The last complaints report to go before scrutiny was in 2019 and that was not a meeting the senior complaints officer would have enjoyed. The Committee asked for more detail than usual and the officer made several references to the Ombudsman for Wales. The Ombudsman has since denied the words of the officer.
The latest report, authored by the Head of Children's SS refers back to the June, 2019 Ombudsman's report and writes - "...recommendation asked the Department to look at the pathway within the Children’s Service in relation to Autism."
There is no pathway - that is the point. The Ombudsman for Wales recommendation from the investigation dated June, 2019 is quite clear - 71.The Council should (within three months) seek specialist input to develop a plan for dealing with future assessment and support requests from/for those suffering with Autism.
Under 'lessons learnt' - "Moving forward, we have learnt an important lesson. At the first point of contact, we need to ensure that we read and understand the report and recommendations..."
The Ombudsman's report and recommendations the Head of Children and Families failed to read and understand can be found here - http://www.lukeclements.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Gwynedd-CC-FINAL-REPORT-201801474.pdf
Another recommendation from the same Ombudsman's report was - 68. The Council should, through its Chief Executive, apologise in writing to Mr & Mrs A (and through that letter to X for failings...). The apology must cover the following matters: •the delay in providing its response to their complaint. •the officer’s apology for distress caused by his comments. •the failure to review X’s child in need plan. •the other failures identified above.
The 'other failures identified above' include the
circumstances that led to an investigating officer feeling 'overwhelmed' and 'bullied' at a
meeting which the Head of the Children's department chaired. Evidence from the council is noted as 'disingenuous' in the Ombudsman's report that also found senior officers had indeed interfered with an 'independent' investigation. Four/five pages were deleted from the original report - these pages included criticism of officer's and departmental failings.
It must be remembered that this investigation was hampered by the council informing the investigators that one officer involved had left the council and so could not be questioned. Once the investigation had concluded the officer then rejoined the council. What of the officer's continuity of employment ? Luke Clements is the Cerebra Professor of Law and Social Justice at the School of Law, Leeds University. In 2013 he was the Special Adviser to the Parliamentary Committee that
scrutinised the draft Bill that resulted in the Care Act 2014.
He wrote an article on the case - Hopefully the local authority in question will implement the ombudsman’s recommendations and take a long hard
(and reforming look) at the organisational culture that allowed these
deplorable events to occur.
This report is incredibly troubling on many levels – not least that a
local authority had so clearly failed to understand its legal
obligations. What is (to an outside observer) of most concern, is the
level and nature of challenge experienced by the IIO. We are well aware
of families being fearful of the consequences of complaining – fearful
of retaliatory action by authorities
– but for a local authority to behave in the way described by the
ombudsman towards independent investigators is shocking. Complaints’
investigators are acting on behalf of Chief Executives / council
members. For a culture to develop where such an investigator considers
that she is being bullied and for the ombudsman to agree that the
impression given was of a council seeking to influence the outcome of an
independent review – strikes at the very heart of the review process.
Ultimately senior legal officers and council members are responsible for
the organisational culture of their authority – and these officers /
members should take a long hard look at this report.
The full article can be found here - http://www.lukeclements.co.uk/omg-will-it-never-end-2/
Recent correspondence from the Ombudsman for Wales with regard to Cyngor Gwynedd council and the Autism plan - that should have been implemented in 2019.
"Unfortunately, the Ombudsman and the Chief Executive have not yet been able to find a mutually convenient date to have the meeting I referred to in my last update to you at the end of June. This meeting will be taken forward as soon as it can practically be arranged, regardless of what I say below
I am pleased to confirm that further progress has been made by the Council and that the finalised version of the draft plan was agreed by the project board that has met since I last wrote to you. It will be presented to the Council’s Cabinet meeting in October for final approval and implementation."
It has been a busy time for the Ombudsman during the pandemic and with the new CEO still finding his feet the delay is understandable. But has he forgotten arranging a meeting with the present Director of SS to discuss these same issues - two years ago !!?? That meeting arranged weeks in advance was cancelled by the council one hour before due.
But with no fanfare from the council and much teeth pulling, the Ombudsman appears certain that the Autism plan will be finally approved and implemented in October. We shall see...
But what of the other cases where Gwynedd council have not complied with the recommendations of Welsh Government agencies ?
This may prove difficult as the Ombudsman's office has signed off some compliance issues without checking the veracity of the departments evidence or really understanding the issues involved to the obvious benefit of Gwynedd and how many other councils ?
After a recent review the Ombudsman has now changed the process of ensuring compliance with his recommendations are met. The old system of the officer's chasing up on compliance arising from their own investigations did not work well for some reason. Will Care Inspectorate Wales be undertaking a similiar review ?
This will effect all Welsh councils but too late for many people who have brought complaints with the Ombudsman in the past and also those not realising that 'recommendations for improvement' can be downgraded with a 'variance' discussed behind closed doors months after the investigation has finished.
Cyngor Gwynedd Council have published a report that went before the Care Scrutiny Committee on the 30th, Sept, 2021 entitled - The Quality Assurance Service within the Safeguarding Unit.
The purpose of this report is to offer an overview of the work of the Quality Assurance Unit within the Adults, Health and Well-being Department of Gwynedd Council. It is intended to focus on the demand and the impact of the work in the context of providing care services for vulnerable residents in the County.
Towards the end of 2020, several safeguarding reports were receivedclaiming that suitable care was not being provided within five homes in the County. In response to this, face-to-face monitoring was undertaken and three care homes and two nursing homes within the county were placed under the Escalating Concerns procedure.
Owing to the monitoring work, an embargo on new placements was imposed on the five homes, and two now have a conditional embargo in terms of the number of new residents who may be admitted.
If any provision under-performs and that an embargo on admissions or placements is in place, it has a significant impact on the area teams in terms of their ability to place or use that service. It also has a significant effect on the individuals and their families as it is not always possible to place people within their preferred area or receive a specific service in their community in a timely manner.
The report states that one nursing home and two care homes have closed
in Gwynedd over the past two years and concludes with mentioning the
Magaret Flynn Review (2012) and the Winterbourne View Hospital scandal -
twice. Why reference institutional abuse of those with autism and learning difficulties in a care setting from a decade ago ?
The full report can be found here - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/s31392/Adroddiad%20Saesneg%20Sicrwydd%20Ansawdd%20-%20Pwyllgor%20Craffu%2030%2009%202021.pdf
The report makes for uncomfortable reading - but these issues have been known for years. It also makes no mention of serious incidents such as - "Care 'failings' before man choked to death on toast" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51388454
From the BBC article - "The
report said there was no documentation relating to the awarding of the
care contract to Cartrefi Cymru or any specific terms relating to Mr N's
care needs and the responsibilities of parties involved in his care. It
was also found there was no documentation to demonstrate the council,
as lead commissioner, had monitored the delivery of care to Mr N. "
No documents. No monitoring of publicly funded care delivery. No social worker. No care.
So what is happening within the care homes for those with Dementia ?
"69.
- In my view, these failings not only caused Mr A a significant
injustice but also impacted upon Article 8 of his Human Rights. However,
I have decided that the finding I have made of maladministration is so
clear and so serious that to consider the human rights issues further
would add little value to my analysis or to the outcome.I have therefore
decided to say no more about that."
The full Ombudsman's report can be found here - http://www.lukeclements.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Ombudsman-Gwynedd-Council-report-201700388.pdf
Recommendations from this report included - 81 (f) Reviews its process on monitoring commissioned services for adults. The council agreed to complete this work by January, 2019...
Will the Children's department be producing such a report ? What happened in the case of the vulnerable 15 year old, living in a caravan during his placement at a care setting in Gwynedd ?
"Schoolboy 'wrapped in cling film and gagged by children's home staff' https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-01-29/schoolboy-wrapped-in-cling-film-and-gagged-by-children-s-home-staff-says-hearing
In
2019, the CEO of Cyngor Gwynedd, stated to Councillors that all the Ombudsman for Wales recommendations had been met 'bar a nuance'. This was not correct.
Five
Ombudsman for Wales reports into Gwynedd Social Services departments over four years
- with major recommendations of the Ombudsman ignored. At this very
moment a piece of work is being prepared by the Adults
department to present to the Ombudsman in the hope it will finally
achieve compliance already overdue way before the pandemic. The author,
Manon Trapp, was recently warned by the departing CEO that further
'slippage' will not be tolerated by the Ombudsman - so that will be an
interesting document...if the council ever release it. Sshh...
This past year has seen a marked increase in complaints against the SS
departments. The present Director gives the reason for the increase as the result of a 'new' system of recording any
expessions of dissatisfaction as a complaint. For several years, the departments recorded some complaints as enquiries only which would have affected the data on behaviours, performance and trends.
But, earlier this year, the Director herself downgraded a complaint to an enquiry so this makes no
sense. The complaint concerned the actions of officer's that according
to the senior safeguarding officer went against their very ethos - so maybe it does. Sshh...
Is
Dafydd Gibbard, the new CEO, aware of the issues that the Ombudsman has
uncovered over the last few years ? Of course, he is - the CEO has been
with Gwynedd council since 2003 and would have heard all the stories.
Nick Bennett has made quite plain his 'outrage' at the last incumbent
and may already have been in contact with Mr Gibbard to ensure the new
boss is aware of what is expected of him and the senior officer's. So much going on behind closed
doors...
The SS department recently turned down a request for a copy of the Review of Autism Services, by Hugh Morgan, OBE, commissioned after a recommendation from an earlier Ombudsman's report - that was initially ignored. The complainants informal request was treated as a Freedom Of Information request by the Director and after the regulatory 20 days had passed the request was refused. After an Internal Review the Monitoring Officer overturned the SS decision and the report was finally released - though it is named the Derwen report for some reason. How confusing....Don't mention the A word. Sshh...
Think on that. A Monitoring Officer overturning the wishes of his own council's Director of Social Services. There has also been a recent change to the council's Constitution asked for by the Monitoring Officer that distances himself from the SS departments. What is going on...? There appears to have been no proper scrutiny of council operations since before the pandemic and so much goes on behind the scenes unminuted and undocumented but this is not usual.
There has been a shuffling of positions within the Care Scrutiny committee too - a new Chair has been appointed. Dewi Roberts, who attempted to challenge the SS departments during his tenure has been replaced by the man he replaced, Eryl Jones-Williams - who did not. The Chair is the most important position on any committee and controls what will appear on the agenda - usually discussed and formulated at a pre-meeting with senior officers that is not open to the public and no minutes are taken.
Where is the voice of the Cabinet Members in all this ? Why the silence ? £35,000 per annum plus expenses plus pension...comes with legal duties and responsibilities. Doesn't it?
Care Inspectorate Wales ? We do not investigate individual complaints. Still..?
And what of another Ombudsman's investigation and the findings from 2018 - "69. - In my view, these failings not only caused Mr A a significant
injustice but also impacted upon Article 8 of his Human Rights.
However, I have decided that the finding I have made of
maladministration is so clear and so serious that to consider the human
rights issues further would add little value to my analysis or to the
outcome.I have therefore decided to say no more about that."
The recommendations ordered by the Ombudsman in this case were also not fully complied with. Lessons learnt ?
The previous post highlighted critical reports into Cyngor Gwynedd social services department from 2001 through to 2008 undertaken by Wales Audit Office and the Care Inspectorate Wales.
There were many promises for improvement - The council’s strategic director of social
services, Dafydd P Lewis, said that since the joint review was completed
in 2007, a great deal of time and effort had been invested in
modernising the sector...
and that councillors and staff in key positions have expressed a
determination to achieve the change now required means that we are
confident that we can deliver the necessary changes quickly and efficiently,"
Council leader Dyfed Edwards said: "This
report confirms that the ‘traditional’ Gwynedd way of delivering social
services is no longer an acceptable option and that we must modernise
these services as a matter of urgency."
Strong words from the then Director of Gwynedd SS departments and council leader - so did things get better ?
A 2010/11 Care Inspectorate Wales report highlighted 42
areas in which Gwynedd social services needed to improve. In some areas the department’s results have put it amongst the worst performing councils in Wales.
From a Daily Post article by Dion Jones 00:00, 1 DEC 2011 Updated 00:58, 19 APR 2013
Gwynedd Council social services criticised in report
THE county’s social services department has failed to meet a number
of statutory requirements in the field of child protection, according to
a damning report.
The social services watchdog for Wales said it
does not yet have the “confidence” in Gwynedd Council’s delivery of
some children’s services.
The 2010/11 annual report by the Care
and Social Services Inspectorate Wales has outlined a staggering 42
areas across the board in which social services need to improve –
compared to just 20 areas where the department is praised.
In some areas the department’s results have put it amongst the worst performing councils in Wales.
But
the head of the social services in Gwynedd said it has already adopted
an improvement programme and that progress has been made in the six
months since the inspection period.
Among the most hard hitting statistics in the report were:
Only 63% of service users had a review of their care plan – one of the lowest proportions in Wales
36%
of all initial assessments on children were carried out by social
workers when the child wasn’t even there. This meant that almost 500
children were not seen as part of their initial assessment.
Only 47% of initial assessments were carried out within seven days (the national standard).
A
total of 90 people experienced delays in being discharged from hospital
– significantly higher than other authorities in North Wales.
An
entry in the report reads: “Children’s services have not yet secured
all of the improvements necessary to provide assurance or confidence in
delivery of social care services.
“A number of improvement priorities and statutory requirements have not been met.”
However,
the report also praised some aspects of the department, such as the
“well run” fostering service which was deemed to be providing “good
quality and nurturing care for children and young people”.
Gwen
Carrington, Gwynedd Council’s head of social services said: “The council
is committed to continuing to improve social services so that we can
provide modern and effective support for vulnerable people.
“In
their annual report for the period from April 2010 to March 2011, the
CSSIW note that Gwynedd Council’s social services has an understanding
of its strengths and the fields where improvements needed.
“The council is already implementing an improvement programme.
“For
example, we have already adopted a residential and nursing strategy to
tackle the over-dependency on traditional residential care.
“The
CSSIW notes that the evidence shows the council is making progress in
key areas and they have confirmed that no inspection will be undertaken
in Gwynedd in 2011-2012.
“In addition, there has been substantial progress in the six month period since the period of the report.”
So a critical report from 2001 was ignored with no improvements made and the same in 2008.
Remember the then Director's words from 2008 - 'a great deal of time and effort had been invested in
modernising the sector...and that councillors and staff in key positions have expressed a
determination to achieve the change now required means that we are
confident that we can deliver the necessary changes quickly and
efficiently.'
Obviously not...
But, this time a different Director of SS has been appointed to step forward and promise to
'provide modern and effective support for vulnerable people' that senior officer's had promised in 2001 and again in 2008 and now 2011. Gwen Carringtonstates “The council is already implementing an improvement programme."
The same thing over and over and over....
Below is a link to the Director of SS, Annual Report for the year 2010/2011 - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/Data/Dwyfor%20Area%20Committee/20120326/Agenda/11_02_Appendix.pdf
The
Director of Social Service departments Annual Report is an important piece of
work and the data is so valued by national governments to plan future services it is protected by
legislation. Whilst the critical CIW and other agency reports and recommendations are
ignored and left on the shelf to gather dust, social service reportsare used to inform, build on success, identify areas for improvement and be aware of any 'trends' and 'patterns' that emerge....
The Director writes - "Since our services were criticised in the Joint Review (external joint-review of social services in 2008 undertaken by the CSSIW and WAO), we have been busy laying foundations and strengthening arrangements. This year, we have evidence of that success and the inspectors have acknowledged our success in 2010."
Whilst the CSSIW (Care Inspectorate Wales) writes - “Children’s services have not yet secured
all of the improvements necessary to provide assurance or confidence in
delivery of social care services."
Six years after the creation of the new unitary Cyngor Gwynedd council - formed to replace the local authority that failed children during the North Wales child abuse scandal - the adult SS department had concerns flagged in a 2001 review of its services.
This Daily Post article from 2008 reports on a 'damning' review of social services in Gwynedd, undertaken in 2007, showing much needed improvement had still not been implemented by the department seven years later.
15:35, 16 OCT 2008 Updated 05:01, 19 APR 2013By Alex Hickey
GWYNEDD Council’s social services provision has been criticised in a damning report.
A
joint review report conducted by Wales Audit Office and the care
inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) has uncovered a catalogue of concerns
including a failure to develop modern social services to allow
vulnerable people to live full and independent lives and "inconsistent"
levels of care and support across the county as a whole
Reviewers
were "particularly concerned" that in adult services, many
improvements, planned since the last review in 2001, had not been
implemented.
They also identified an "urgent need" to change the way services were delivered.
Efforts
had been made since the last joint review to increase spending on
social services but reviewers found that it had not been used to best
effect and the council needed to focus more on making the best use of
the resources available.
In one of the few plus points the report
praised the hard work of social services staff, who were being let down
by the system they were working under. In children’s services, the
review found that more had been done to improve aspects of practice and
service following concerns about performance.
The council said it was "determined" to meet the challenges laid out in the report.
CSSIW
chief inspector Rob Pickford said: "The review team has judged that
social services in Gwynedd are inconsistent and improvements need to be
made urgently in order to bring them up to the required standard. The
council has not moved in the right direction to address its shortfalls,
and it now needs to clearly demonstrate that it can address an
increasingly challenging agenda and develop an effective response to the
concerns raised in this joint review".
Auditor
General for Wales, Jeremy Colman added: "Gwynedd is failing to provide
social services which consistently meet the needs of all service users
and is unable to demonstrate that investment in services has been used
to best effect. The council needs to focus on developing a broad range
of modern services, which provide better all round value for the
resources expended."
The council’s strategic director of social
services, Dafydd P Lewis, said that since the joint review was completed
in 2007, a great deal of time and effort had been invested in
modernising the sector.
"As a council we recognise that there is
an extremely challenging improvement journey ahead. The fact that the
report confirms that Gwynedd provides safe services for vulnerable
people, that council staff are hard-working and committed to their work,
and that councillors and staff in key positions have expressed a
determination to achieve the change now required means that we are
confident that we can deliver the necessary changes quickly and
efficiently," he added.
Council leader Dyfed Edwards said: "This
report confirms that the ‘traditional’ Gwynedd way of delivering social
services is no longer an acceptable option and that we must modernise
these services as a matter of urgency."
With regard to the previous post, the Corporate Director of Cyngor Gwynedd council SS departments, Morwena Edwards, has given her explanation of the statements made to the Care Scrutiny Committee by the CEO, Dilwyn Williams and the senior complaints manager, Dafydd Paul, in particular - bearing in mind the Ombudsman for Wales has denied instructing the council.
"The Ombudsman is correct in his replies to your queries that he did not explicitly request that Gwynedd Council contact you by telephone to offer and/or arrange these assessments."
Interesting wording - and they were anything but queries... Morwena continues - "However, the Ombudsman’s office was clear that they expected us to be pro–active in response to their findings that we provide these assessments.After obtaining legal advice, our interpretation of the Ombudsman’s recommendation led us to conclude that contacting you directly to offer you and your family the comprehensive assessment of your needs referred to above was the most appropriate course of action. This action was taken in good faith as part of our sincere effort to meet the terms of the Ombudsman’s recommendation.I wish to sincerely apologise for the confusion and distress that the subsequent telephone call to you on 14/11/19 caused, and I accept that we should have taken into account that you had previously requested that communication between your family and the Council should only be conducted via email.In response to your second point above,
I acknowledge that the quote from the transcript you provided of Mr Paul’s statement to the Care Scrutiny Committeeon 14/11/19 is what was conveyed to the Committee."
So did the senior complaints manager mislead Councillors of the Committee?
"However, I must disagree with your assertion that his statement was made deliberately to mislead the Committee in some way about how Gwynedd Council were intending to meet the Ombudsman’s recommendations contained in his report."
But, if the Ombudsman had given the council no such instruction why did the officer spend so much time telling Councillors that he had ? "...the Ombudsman has judged this and wants us to go no matter what the wish
of the individual may be..."
"Mr Paul’s statement to the Committee is consistent with the prevailing interpretation of this specific recommendation from the Ombudsman by Gwynedd Council at that time. In order to meet the recommendation, we decided that all methods be explored in order to comprehensively assess your family’s needs."
'...consistent with the prevailing interpretation...' What. does. that. even. mean ? Regardless - the Ombudsman has denied the words of Dafydd Paul - "given them a
further challenge, to make sure that someone goes to see the family,
meet the family, ensure that they receive that assessement and that is
something that we have now arranged with the adult
services, to go into that situation on the Ombudsman's behalf, despite
the fact that they have not expressed a wish to receive the service, our
usual ethos involves intervention but only if the person invites us in
and wishes for us to intervene in this way,
the Ombudsman has judged this and wants us to go no matter what the wish
of the individual may be, so that is now our response to that challenge
provided by the Ombudsman." (translated)
Morwena Edwards continues - "The action of being proactive in offering you and your family these assessments was seen as vital to meeting the Ombudsman’s directions, and was interpreted as being a requirement implicitly arising from that recommendation."
There is that word 'interpretation' again. Anyway the recommendation referred to has been ignored since 2010, and again in 2017. Two social worker's were assigned to carry out that task in 2018, alongside another Ombudsman's recommendation. After completing one piece of work - badly - they did not return as they had said they would.
The Ombudsman has called the Director's thinking as 'illogical' in a past investigation. What could be said now ?
Something is seriously wrong within Gwynedd council.
