Ombudsman forced to review first set of complaints data it published on social housing in Wales
The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) has been forced to review complaints data it published for the first time on social housing in Wales.
The data – which was released on 9 January – had suggested a much higher logging of complaints than in other parts of the public sector.
A spokesperson for the PSOW said it had been brought to its attention by two of the housing associations that the dataset may have contained some inaccuracies in relation to the housing association data.
They added: “Whilst much of the data was supplied by housing associations, the published data also included analysis undertaken by our office and referred to numbers of tenants, information that was not provided by the housing associations.
“To ensure that this data is completely reliable and accurate we are therefore urgently reviewing the published data and analysis, and we will be undertaking further checks of the data with the housing associations concerned.
“In the meantime, we have temporarily removed it from our website. We are sorry for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused. Our team is working to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. Once we have completed the review and are confident that all the data is correct, we will republish the information.”
The Ombudsman also published complaints data last week for local authorities and health boards.
This revealed that nearly 11,000 complaints were logged by local authorities in Wales during the first half of 24/25, the equivalent of seven complaints for every 1,000 residents.
This number has grown over recent years, following the implementation of the PSOW’s Complaints Standards regime in 2019, it added.
More than 75% of complaints were handled within the target time of 20 working days, a performance similar to previous years.
More than a third (37%) of complaints were about waste and refuse, 18% were about housing, and 12% were about social services.
More than 50% of all complaints were upheld by local authorities, a slight increase on last year, according to the PSOW.
The Ombudsman received 707 complaints about local authorities in the first half of 24/25, which represents 7% of all complaints closed by local authorities in the same period.
The service closed 615 complaints in the first half of 24/25, although some of those complaints would have been referred to the PSOW during the previous financial year.
The PSOW intervened in 12% of those cases, by recommending ‘Early Resolution’, ‘Voluntary Settlement’, or upholding a complaint after an investigation.
The large majority of cases about local authorities closed by the service in the first half of 24/25 were out of jurisdiction, or closed by early resolution, the Ombudsman said.
The PSOW's data for health boards in Wales revealed that complaint volumes were slightly lower than the first half of the previous financial year.
The data for closure of complaints by health boards, referral of complaints to the Ombudsman, and intervention by the PSOW were broadly similar to the previous year.