Social services complaints

Complaints about social services are dealt with in accordance with statutory regulations. The Social Services Complaints Procedure will be used if you are a service user who has a complaint about either Adult or Children’s Services. If you are making a complaint on behalf of a relative or friend, we may require their consent.

If your complaint is about a child or adult who has been harmed or abused, this will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant child and adult safeguarding procedures.

The Social Services Complaints Procedure is not an appeals procedure. Any concerns you have relating to issues being considered by the court should be raised in the court. We would encourage you to seek legal advice in these instances.

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Corporate and Statutory Complaints Policy PDF Format 199.78 KB

How to submit a complaint

You can submit your complaint via the online form on MyAccount (you’ll need to register with MyAccount first if you haven’t already).

Submit a complaint online

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Contact us

The quickest and easiest way to submit a complaint is via the online form. Alternatively, you can contact the Complaints team at the following:

Email: complaints@wrexham.gov.uk

Complaints Team
Wrexham County Borough Council
Guildhall
Wrexham
LL11 1AY

Social Services Complaints Procedure

The Social Services Complaints Procedure has two stages:

Stage One (Local Resolution)

You will have the opportunity to discuss your complaint with the team manager within 10 working days of your complaint being acknowledged. This will be either face to face or over the telephone.

Every effort will be made to make sure the problems are resolved at this stage. Once you and the team manager have agreed on how your complaint will be resolved, they will write to you within 5 working days of that date.

If you remain dissatisfied after the response you can request that the matter is escalated to Stage Two.

Stage Two (Formal Investigation)

The investigation will be undertaken by someone who is independent – that is, not employed by us (Wrexham County Borough Council).

The role of the Independent Investigating Officer is to:

review all documentation relating to the complaint
interview all relevant people
produce a report stating their findings, conclusions and recommendations

The Director of Social Services will then write to you with their response, which will also include a copy of the investigation report.

This process should be completed within 25 working days of the agreed start date of your investigation.

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint following a formal investigation, you can complain directly to the Public Services Ombudsman.

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (external link)

Documents