Nottinghamshire County Council (19 000 339)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 19-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council unreasonably sought repayment of direct payment monies which she had used for her care and refused a meeting to discuss her concerns. The Council only undertook one annual review and did not raise any concerns about Mrs B’s spending between 2012 and 2016. That meant Mrs B had no opportunity to amend the way she managed her direct payments account. An apology to Mrs B and a recalculation of the amount to be recovered is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

Sheffield City Council (19 010 869)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 18-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr A’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to agree to backdate an uplift in his direct payments to April 2018. This is because the fault Mr A alleges has not caused a significant enough injustice to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

Surrey County Council (18 016 794)

Statement Not upheld Direct payments 11-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains about the way the Council has assessed her care needs and how it plans to meet those needs. She also complains that the Council has not made adaptations recommended by an occupational therapist. Mrs X says she does not understand what the Council says are her eligible care needs. The Ombudsman does not uphold Mrs X’s complaint because we find no evidence of fault.

Norfolk County Council (18 012 426)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 07-Nov-2019

Summary: The Council failed to act in accordance with the Care Act in reviewing Mr Y’s care needs. It failed to assess the total extent of his needs and failed to develop a clear support plan showing how the needs will be met. The Council wrongly told Mr Y his direct payments could not be spent on social/community activities, which in this case were identified as an eligible need.

Norfolk County Council (18 012 427)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 07-Nov-2019

Summary: The Council failed to act in accordance with the Care Act in reviewing Mr W’s care needs. It failed to assess the total extent of his needs and failed to develop a clear support plan showing how the needs will be met. The Council wrongly told Mr W his direct payments could not be spent on social/community activities, which in this case were identified as an eligible need.

Leicester City Council (19 008 208)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 06-Nov-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms A’s late complaint about the Council’s failure to properly advise her on applying for housing benefit for the person she cares for, Ms B, between 2015 and 2017. This is because Ms A could have come to the Ombudsman sooner if she was concerned about the Council’s actions. There is no good reason for the Ombudsman to disapply the law and investigate this late complaint now.

Nottinghamshire county Council (18 015 558)

Report Upheld Direct payments 06-Nov-2019

Summary: Mr X complains the Council reduced his adult son, Mr Y’s, personal budget without full assessment and consideration of his needs. Mr X believes decisions taken to reduce Mr Y’s personal budget were financially motivated. Consequently, Mr Y had to top-up his budget to enable him to continue receiving support from a Care Provider.

Somerset County Council (18 018 018)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 28-Oct-2019

Summary: The Council was at fault when it reduced Mrs A’s direct payment and removed Mr A’s carer support. It failed to act in line with the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support Statutory Guidance. This caused avoidable confusion and distress. To remedy the injustice, the Council will, within two months, apologise, make payments and carry out fresh assessments.

Buckinghamshire County Council (19 008 685)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 22-Oct-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The Ombudsman is unlikely to find fault with Buckinghamshire County Council’s decision to stop providing Mr X with a care package for his social care needs.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (19 008 042)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 09-Oct-2019

Summary: Mrs Y says the Council is failing to ensure her son’s care provision. We cannot investigate as this complaint falls outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.