Council told to learn lessons after complaint over vulnerable man’s housing

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

A council has apologised to a man who raised concerns about his son’s “unsuitable” supported housing placement.

The man complained to Wales’ public services ombudsman that a risk assessment from Caerphilly County Borough Council and a health board was missing “key information” about his son’s needs.

He also told the ombudsman the council had failed to carry out its own investigation into his concerns.

The ombudsman’s office found “failings around documentation” but accepted a supported housing provider had been offered sufficient information about the needs of the man’s son.

However, the ombudsman judged the council had missed an opportunity to “identify and learn lessons” from the matter, and said the man had faced “injustice” by having to complain further “in order to obtain answers”.

The council was urged to apologise to the man – referred to in reports only as Mr J – and to carry out an audit of its community mental health teams.

At a meeting of the council’s standards committee, held on Monday June 1, members heard an apology had been offered to Mr J.

But the remainder of the meeting – to discuss the council’s progress on the audit and its findings – was held in private, to protect the identity of Mr J’s son.