Mr X complained about systemic maladministration on the part of Corwen Town Council (“the Council”). He said that it had failed to publish or provide statutorily prescribed information, had published inaccurate and misleading information in official minutes and it had failed to follow its own policies in respect of dealing with complaints.
The Ombudsman found that the Council had failed to respond to 2 complaints submitted by Mr X in August and September 2022. Further, she found that the Council had failed to publish minutes of a number of meetings on its website, in accordance with the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to provide written acknowledgement to Mr X that his complaints would be investigated formally and responded to, provide Mr X with a written apology for the failure to respond to his complaints and provide Mr X with a written response to his complaints, fully addressing all issues raised by him, within 30 days. Within 60 days, the Council would provide confirmation to the Ombudsman that all approved Council meeting minutes, for all meetings held since 1 January 2020, had been uploaded to its website.