A word from the Ombudsman

Welcome to the 10th edition of our newsletter.

In terms of the volume of our casework, we have just wrapped up the busiest year on record. Although we will publish the details of our complaints service performance in our Annual Report later in the year, I can already signal that we have never seen that many new complaints, with the number of complaints closed likewise far beyond our performance in the previous years.

In the meantime, as we prepare our Annual Report, we include in this newsletter updates on some of our recent public interest reports and outcomes of our Code of Conduct referrals. Our own initiative work has progressed considerably over the past few months – we will be covering our own initiative investigations into social housing disrepair, damp and mould, as well as our other current investigations and our follow-up report into carers’ needs assessments. It’s a busy time for us in this department!

As we enter the new financial year, we also mark a special point in the history of the office. It is now 20 years since the first Public Services Ombudsman for Wales took the post. It’s a great opportunity to take stock of the impact we have delivered for the people of Wales over the last two decades and appreciate how our powers have changed to not only deliver justice to individuals but also support systemic improvement of services. We will be outlining our plans for marking this special year further this newsletter.

However, as we mark the 20th anniversary of the office, our eyes are firmly on the future. We are also delighted to publish today our new Strategic Plan 2026-29. It comes at an important time for our office. Demand for our service continues to grow, while expectations of public services, and of the Ombudsman, are changing. At the same time, many people still face barriers when raising concerns or seeking justice, and long‑standing issues in public services can require more systemic solutions. Our Plan responds to these challenges with a renewed focus on impact, accessibility and improvement. I want to thank all who took time to contributed to our public consultation on the Plan and helped to shape it. We can’t wait to get to work!

Our 20th anniversary

Our new Strategic Plan 2026-29

Public interest reports

Carers follow-up report

Own initiative investigations

Code of Conduct referrals and decisions

Complaints standards work