Watchdog has 'reached capacity' as it struggles to deal with surge in cases

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, writes ICNN Senedd reporter Chris Haines.

- ICNN Senedd reporter 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 resourceintensive investigation.

Ms Morris told Senedd members: "We felt we were operating very close to capacity with the case numbers we experienced the year before and given the increases we've now seen last year on top of that, we really do feel that we've reached capacity with our current workforce."

The ombudsman has requested a 5.4% budget increase, with 3% covering pay and price pressures - and the remaining 2.4% needed to cope with increases in demand.

Katrin Shaw, the ombudsman’s casework and legal director, warned of a “constant juggling act" to manage demand and told the committee: “We are fully stretched.”