Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Wales’ public services ombudsman received 81 complaints about Caerphilly County Borough Council in the past year.

In the context of the borough’s population, the rate of complaints was largely in line with the national average.

A council report shows the vast majority (78) were complaints about public services, with housing-related matters (19) the most common area of concern.

Owing to some matters carrying over from the previous reporting year, the ombudsman’s office closed 79 complaints – with an intervention rate of 14%.

In nearly half of those cases (37), the ombudsman decided not to investigate a complaint further, while 17 cases were considered to have been referred prematurely.

In 14 cases, the complaint was outside the ombudsman’s jurisdiction, and in the remaining 11 cases an early resolution was made.

The council was also the subject of three code of conduct complaints.

In two cases the ombudsman found no obvious evidence of a breach, while the other case was not considered to be in the public interest to investigate.

Of the 24 recommendations the ombudsman made in the past year, Caerphilly Council complied with 12 within the required timescale.

In a letter outlining the figures, Michelle Morris, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, reminded the council “recommendations and timescales for complying with recommendations are always agreed with the public body concerned before being finalised, and we therefore expect organisations to comply within the timescales agreed”.

The council’s standards committee noted the contents of the report at a meeting on September 3.