‘We’re sorry’: York council to pay compensation to resident following complaint

City of York Council has agreed to apologise and compensate a York resident after failing to respond to their complaint.

The resident took the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman which found the council was at fault causing an injustice.

Known only as Mr X, the resident complained to the council about how it managed his transition from children’s to adult social services.

His complaint was escalated to stage two of the complaints process. Under rules that all councils must follow, City of York Council have up to 13 weeks to complete stage two.

Having not heard back in the timeframe, Mr X complained to the ombudsman.

“There was a short delay in the council completing its stage two investigation,” the ombudsman says.

“It then offered to meet with Mr X to discuss the findings before issuing its response. Mr X agreed, but the council delayed arranging the meeting due to staff resourcing issues.”

The council has now held the meeting and issued a response.

The ombudsman’s conclusion: “The council should have completed a stage two investigation into Mr X’s complaint within 13 weeks. It did not and this is fault.

“Mr X has not received answers to questions he raised and has been caused frustration by the delay.”

The council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and to offer a £100 payment to compensate for his time and trouble.