Watchdog handles record number of complaints

A PUBLIC services watchdog received a record 3,500 formal complaints last year - a 10% increase that is stretching resources to their limit, a Senedd committee has heard.

- By CHRIS HAINES

Michelle Morris, the public services ombudsman for Wales, warned her office has “reached capacity” with its staff having to queue new cases to manage the workload.

Appearing before the finance committee on Thursday, the ombudsman said her office is receiving increasingly complex cases that require resource-intensive investigation.