Mrs A complained that Caerphilly County Borough Council refused to escalate her social services complaint about her late husband.
The Ombudsman found that the Council had refused to escalate Mrs A’s complaint to Stage 2 of the complaints process. She said that this caused frustration and uncertainty to Mrs A. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to write to Mrs A with an apology for the oversight and to confirm that her complaint has been escalated to Stage 2, including explaining the next steps within 4 weeks.