A complainant contacted the Office of the Ombudsman with a complaint about the local authority where she lives. She explained that because she had not received a subsidy from the daycare she had accrued a debt, and she had received a notice from the daycare manager that her daughter would soon be removed from the daycare
A complainant from the north of the country, the mother of a toddler at risk, contacted the Office of the Ombudsman with a complaint about the local authority where she lives. She explained that her daughter attends daycare, and the previous year she had received a subsidy for her attendance there. However, this year she had received no response to her inquiries to the local authority in the matter and she did not receive a subsidy. Consequently, she accrued a debt to the daycare, and the daycare director notified her that her daughter would soon be removed from the daycare due to the debt.
The local authority explained that the complainant had indeed received a subsidy the previous year, but a new application was required every year, and this had not been submitted. The authority also said that there was a shortage of social workers in the welfare department and so there had been a delay in handling the matter.
Following our inquiry, the local authority accelerated the handling of the application, examined the documents and convened a committee that approved a subsidy from the date the decision was made. Furthermore, an application was made to the Exceptions Committee to approve a retroactive subsidy from the start of the school year. The application was approved, and the complainant received a full subsidy.
The complainant expressed her gratitude for the assistance she received from the Office in getting the subsidy. The local authority also expressed its appreciation for the way in which our Office handled he matter, thanking the Office for its serious and professional attitude to the complainant's application and for the cooperation, sensitivity and understanding displayed toward the local authority in the course of investigating the complaint .
