Wales Ombudsman reports 48% surge in public service complaints

In its Q1 report for 2026, the watchdog said it had already received 1,130 new complaints about public services in the first quarter, which amounts to a near-50% increase compared to the same period last year.

The Ombudsman meanwhile said that the rise in complaints had been met with a 37% increase in closed public service complaints compared to this time last year.

The Ombudsman also reported that it is continuing to see an increase in new complaints about the Code of Conduct.

"Between April and June this year, we have already received 18% more complaints than during the same period last year," the report said.

It highlighted a code of conduct investigation that resulted in a two-month suspension for a member at Cardiff Council.

"Our investigation found evidence suggesting that the Member’s actions had brought the Council and/or his role of councillor into disrepute," the watchdog said.

It added: "The case was referred to the Council’s Standards Committee.  The Committee decided that the appropriate sanction was to suspend the Member for a period of 2 months."

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales hosts the Complaints Standards Authority (CSA), which works with public bodies to support effective complaint handling, collect and publish data, and deliver training.

According to the report, the Ombudsman is working on getting every housing association in Wales to operate under its Complaints Standards.

The watchdog now has 27 housing associations operating under these Standards, with the remaining five making strong progress towards compliance. All are on track to achieve this by the end of September, it said.

The Ombudsman also plans to extend Complaints Standards to other key public service sectors next, including primary care providers.

Elsewhere, the report detailed survey results regarding public awareness, which found that awareness had risen to 52% this year, up from 48% last year. The Ombudsman said that public confidence "also remains high", highlighting a result that 79% of people said they have confidence in the watchdog.

A separate survey of public sector chief executives meanwhile found that 82% believed the Ombudsman has a positive impact on public services in Wales, and 84% said that complaints standards work had improved their organisation’s reporting on complaints.

Nearly three quarters of chief executives (72%) also said that the Ombudsman's recommendations led to tangible improvements.

At the same time, respondents across both surveys identified areas for improvement, which related to updates on open complaints, deadlines to provide evidence, timeliness of the Ombudsman's work, guidance from staff, and the availability of complaints standards training.

Commenting on the rise in complaints, Ombudsman Michelle Morris said: "While we continue to explore ways to manage this workload in a timely and efficient manner, we have been developing our engagement with stakeholders who support, advise and represent complainants."

She said the service had attended a number of events and conferences in the last quarter and offered more online training on our role and process, adding: "It’s been wonderful connecting with so many of you and hearing your thoughts on our work."

Adam Carey