Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (05C07774)

Adult care services & Managing tenancies    Maladministration causing injustice

14 December 2006

‘Mr and Mrs Thompson’ (not their real names for legal reasons) complained about the Council’s treatment of them and of their adult son, who was at the time living in a supported tenancy managed by the Council. It was during this time that an allegation was made against him by another tenant, leading to him being informally interviewed by the police. This interview was not conducted under the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and an appropriate adult was not present. The Thompson’s son was then moved out of his supported tenancy for three months, until a decision was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service not to proceed with the allegation made against him.  

The Council accepts that its staff did not fully understand either its All-Agency Adult Protection Policy or the implications of the term ‘vulnerable adult’. It accepts that the Thompsons’ son should have been treated as a vulnerable adult and should have been supported during his discussion with the police.

The Council has confirmed that all staff have now completed training in its All-Agency Adult Protection Policy and that all new staff will do so as part of their induction. It will also, where possible, provide an appropriate adult to support vulnerable adults in such circumstances.

The Council has also agreed to improve its book-keeping procedures for those in such supported tenancies.

While the Thompsons did not seek compensation when they brought the complaint to the Ombudsman’s attention, the Council has agreed to pay their son £500 for his distress and a further £100 for a recent incident of theft by another service user from him at his new home. The Council has also agreed to pay the Thompsons £500 for the time and trouble they have spent in pursuing their complaint over a considerable period of time.

Date Published: 23/01/09