St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (19 008 156)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 12-Dec-2019

Summary: Ms X complained the Council unreasonably refused to assign a social worker from its children with disabilities service to assess her son and has delayed in meeting his needs. The Council has not considered the complaint at stage two of the statutory children’s complaints procedure. There are no grounds for the Ombudsman to consider the complaint early. The Council will conduct a stage two investigation, apologise to Ms X and make a payment to her to remedy the injustice caused by its delay.

London Borough of Haringey (19 004 368)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 27-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s attempts to arrange a review of her son’s short breaks personal budget. The Ombudsman found fault in the way the Council wrote to Mrs X. The letters it sent were not clear enough and caused her confusion and frustration. One letter arrived several days after the date of the meeting it proposed. The Ombudsman recommended the Council should apologise to Mrs X and pay a financial remedy in recognition of the injustice caused to her. It agreed to do so.

London Borough of Sutton (19 007 786)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 27-Nov-2019

Summary: This complaint follows a previous complaint to the Ombudsman in which we found that the Council failed to deal properly with Mrs X’s requests for social care support for her son since July 2017. The Council has now carried out an assessment and put in place a package of support. The Council has offered to pay Mrs X £10,000 to recognise the support her family could have had if it had handled her application properly. This is a suitable remedy.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (19 001 745)

Statement Not upheld Disabled children 22-Nov-2019

Summary: following my enquiries, the Council decided to make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS will consider Mrs M’s allegations against her son’s carer. I have ended my investigation because there is nothing more I can achieve.

Derbyshire County Council (19 007 721)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 22-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs F complains the Council has removed social care support for her son. The Council has failed to investigate Mrs F’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has agreed to investigate the complaint under stage 2 of the statutory procedure without delay.

Lancashire County Council (17 018 117)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 21-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to properly advise or support her in the administration of direct payments for the care of her children. There was fault in the Council’s administration and monitoring of Mrs X’s direct payment arrangements. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice.

Oxfordshire County Council (19 002 372)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 01-Nov-2019

Summary: Mrs X’s complaint was investigated through the statutory children’s complaints procedure. Fault was identified and recommendations made. Mrs X complains about the Council’s financial remedy offer. She says the amount offered by the Council was not representative of the injustice caused. The Ombudsman finds the Council had not properly considered the impact of the Panel’s views that the Council had been discriminatory at times. The Council has agreed to pay Mrs X a larger financial remedy.

Birmingham City Council (19 002 140)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 30-Sep-2019

Summary: Ms X complains about decisions taken by the Council in relation to direct payments for her two disabled children. She is particularly unhappy about a decision by an appeal panel taken in June 2018, which she says upheld a reduction in payments and did not properly consider their family circumstances. The Ombudsman found there was fault in how the Council handled evidence presented for an April 2018 ‘mini panel’ hearing. However, the rest of its panel hearings about Ms X’s case, including her appeal in June 2018, were properly conducted.

London Borough of Harrow (19 000 440)

Statement Upheld Disabled children 20-Sep-2019

Summary: the Council cannot explain why Mrs M’s daughter, G, was eligible for a Blue Badge in the past but her recent application to renew her Badge was unsuccessful. The Council invited G to an assessment but then made a decision without seeing her. These faults call the Council’s decision into question. The Council has agreed to consider a fresh application.

London Borough of Harrow (19 005 982)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Disabled children 19-Sep-2019

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to issue a Blue Badge to the complainant’s child. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.