Summary of a report issued under section 27 of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019
Case Number: 202309511 & 202406830
Cardiff Council
The Ombudsman is able to use her Own Initiative powers to extend a current investigation to include matters which have a substantial connection to the matters already being investigated. This allows the Ombudsman to investigate matters which have not specifically been complained about.
An investigation was undertaken following a complaint from Mr B, who lives on a Gypsy and Traveller site (“the Site”). He complained that his pitch was overcrowded, there was a failure by Cardiff Council to maintain his utility block, and there was difficulty in purchasing electricity. During the investigation of Mr B’s complaint, concerns were identified about how the Council had managed the whole of the Site.
The Ombudsman used her Own Initiative powers to extend the investigation. The extended investigation examined whether the Council had complied with its legal duties in relation to the Site, whether there had been service failure or maladministration in relation to the Council’s maintenance of the utility blocks on the Site, and whether there had been maladministration or service failure in relation to the management of the residents’ electricity supply on the Site.
The investigation found that the facilities in place on Mr B’s pitch were not appropriate given the number of residents and needs of the individuals. The investigation also found that there had been a failure to maintain Mr B’s utility block. The ability to purchase electricity was considered as part of the extended investigation.
In respect of the extended investigation, it was found that there was a longstanding issue with demand exceeding availability of pitches in this area. This had been impacted by a number of factors, including the area on which the Site sits being previously deemed unsustainable which impacted the Council’s ability to secure funding for redevelopment. Significant progress is now being made in this regard, with a Shore Protection Scheme underway which has changed the status of the Site. The Council has also progressed the purchase of additional land as part of a plan to expand and develop the Site.
However, the investigation found that, although the Council had undertaken a significant amount of complex work to progress this, the time frames were lengthy, and it was unclear whether this could have been progressed earlier. During this time members of this community had endured a lack of suitable accommodation and overcrowded pitches, and it remains unclear when the new site will be completed. Therefore, it was found that the Council had failed to meet the accommodation needs of this community over many years, resulting in poor conditions and leaving residents at a disadvantage.
The investigation also found that, as a result of the change in status of the Site, funding had now been obtained to refurbish the utility blocks and this work is underway. However, significant delays were found in relation to repairs and maintenance on the Site. The Council has acknowledged difficulties in this area and is undertaking action to improve this service.
Finally, the investigation found that the electricity purchase scheme in place is restrictive and not in line with available guidance. Although the ability to provide a direct supply to residents was outside of the Council’s control, it remains that residents have been left at a significant disadvantage.
The Council agreed to, within 4 weeks, apologise to Mr B for the failings identified in the report, apologise to the pitch holders of 2 other pitches for outstanding overdue repairs, provide an update on the overdue repairs a contractor was completing and provide evidence to this office of the consultation that had taken place with the residents of the site during July 2025.
The Council also agreed to, with 16 weeks, provide residents on the Site with an update on the ongoing work to progress the new temporary Site, to provide a copy of the policy being drafted in relation to closing repair jobs where access has not been obtained, and an associated equality impact assessment, to this office and update residents of the Site with changes made, involving advocacy bodies as necessary. It also agreed to review its Responsive Repairs Unit response time targets and ensure these can be returned to their original levels as soon as possible, provide this office with an update on the progress the Council is making on the refurbishment of the utility blocks, and provide an update on the progress the Council is making with the new pre-payment metering system. Finally, it agreed to share this report with its Equality Lead Officer (or equivalent) to seek their views on whether the public sector equality duty has been complied with and share it with an appropriate governance committee to maintain oversight and monitoring of the Council’s compliance with these recommendations.
This investigation demonstrates the value of the Ombudsman’s Own Initiative powers enabling us to investigate issues we would otherwise not have been able to, and identifying additional learning and improvement to be made. In this case, we decided that there was wider learning, that other Local Authorities in Wales could benefit from. As such, we shared our investigation findings with the other Local Authorities to reflect on.