Complaints Review Committee - 22/05/2001

At a MEETING of the COMPLAINTS REVIEW COMMMITTEE held at Dundee on 22nd May 2001.

Present:-

Mrs Margaret WASTIE, Convener, in the Chair.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

The Committee, under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, resolved that the public and press be excluded from the meeting in order that the undernoted items be considered in private on the grounds that the item involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 7(A0 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

I CASE NOS DCC 3/2000 AND 3/2000

The Committee considered written submissions on behalf of the Complainants and on behalf of the Social Work Department including correspondence, copies of which had been circulated, relating to complaints raised against a third party provider and responses from the Social Work Department.

The Committee also heard oral representations by the Complainants, the Section Manager, Commissioning and Purchasing, representing the Social Work Department and representatives of the third party provider in accordance with agreed procedure.

Having considered the complaints, reviewed the correspondence and written submissions before them and having regard to the oral representations, the Complaints Review Committee agreed as follows:-

(i)to affirm the findings of the investigation carried out by the Social Work Department's complaints procedure to uphold all the complaints;

(ii)the Board of Directors of the third party provider be advised that the Committee consider that the Complainants should be reinstated; and

(iii)to recommend to the Social Work Committee to remit to the Director of Social Work that, in the current review of the Service Level Agreement with the third party provider, it be ensured that suitable procedures which are in accordance with natural justice, including a procedure for reviewing suspension/withdrawal of service to clients, be put in place.

II CASE NO DCC/QA7-99- 2000

Reference was made to the minute of meeting of the Complaints Review Committee of 13th March 2000 wherein the Complaints Review Committee agreed that a number of complaints against the Social Work Department be not upheld or not substantiated.

It was reported that the Complainant subsequently made a number of further complaints which had been fully investigated. He had also met with the Director of Social Work and various other officers but remained dissatisfied.

The Director of Social Work advised that the complaints made had been fully investigated and that it has been concluded that the issues were effectively substantially the same complaints as made in the past. In addition, much of the content of the complaints falls outwith the scope of the departmental complaints procedure.

Having taken legal advice, the director of Social Work had decided not to refer the complaints to the Complaints Review Committee for reconsideration in light of the above position.

The Committee noted accordingly.

MARGARET WASTIE, Chairperson

APPENDIX II