The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales is to be asked to investigate Powys County Council over its failure to respond adequately or within its own timeframes to complaints made by the public.
Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George, says he is receiving an increasing number of complaints from constituents who do not receive responses to their complaints about council services or fail to receive communications for months after their enquiries.
“If a complaint is made against Powys County Council, its services or staff then it needs to be dealt with quickly and effectively and they need to communicate with the complainant throughout the process,” said Mr George.
“But this isn’t happening and I’m hearing from more and more people about its failure to respond to complaints within its own guidelines or at all in some cases.”
He added: “In one case a constituent has waited since last year to hear back from the council, despite the authority saying it would respond by the end of April. This is not acceptable.”
Mr George is writing to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales to ask for an investigation into the council’s complaints procedures.
“This is more than about waiting for an e-mail or a telephone call from the council. It is about taxpayers and service users having their complaint dealt with, investigated and then being given a response in a reasonable amount of time,” added Mr George.
