Overview
The complaint was made by a Primary School Council (the School Council) on behalf of the aggrieved, Mrs C, who is a parent of two children who attend a primary school (School 1) which is due to be closed in 2010, on completion of a new school (School 2) which is being built in its place. Through the School Council, Mrs C complained that Dumfries and Galloway Council (the Council) disregarded the results of the public consultation undertaken in 2004 when they decided to amend the planned accommodation in School 2, without further consultation. She considered that the Council were at fault in failing to provide the public with a further opportunity to make their views known and to vote for or against the amendments. She was aggrieved because she believed that the amended accommodation schedule was inadequate and would result in more than one teacher per classroom. Mrs C complained also that the Council failed to reply to her formal complaint on the matter.
Specific complaint and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:
- (a) failed to carry out further consultation following a change of specification for School 2 (not upheld); and
- (b) failed to reply to Mrs C's formal complaint in line with their procedures (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council ensure that their complaints handling systems which are being reviewed make provision for each stage of the process to be dealt with in the timescales which they have set themselves to respond and that an update will be sent to the customer in the event of a delay.
The Council have accepted the recommendation and will act on it accordingly.