London Borough of Lambeth (18 017 212)

Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 12 Jul 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Council delayed for over three months to give Mr C his care act assessment, setting out why he was not eligible for support and providing information and advice. The Council apologised and reminded staff of the correct process; this was appropriate action in response. Mr C disputed the assessment and is upset the Council has not completed a review. The Council is correct not to complete a review; Mr C has moved to another council who has assessed Mr C so there is nothing to gain.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I will call Mr C, says the Council delayed sending him a copy of his adult social care needs assessment which was completed in September 2018, despite many requests and a subject access request. When Mr C received the assessment he disagreed with the content. The Council has not reviewed his needs as says he now falls under the responsibility of another council. Mr C is upset that the Council has not reflected his wishes or well-being and wants it to carry out a review.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by Mr C and the Council. I considered the Care Act 2014 and associated statutory guidance. I shared a draft of this statement and considered Mr C’s response; the Council did not respond.

Back to top

What I found

  1. When a council is aware of someone in its area who may need adult care services it should complete an assessment of their needs; any eligible care needs should be detailed in a support plan.
  2. Mr C contacted the Council in August 2018 asking for a social care assessment to identify any care and support needs he might have. The Council promptly met with Mr C and completed an assessment.
  3. The Council assessed Mr C needs help to maintain a clean and safe home; he uses a walking stick so struggles to vacuum and clean. However, you need to have two or more eligible support needs for the Council to complete a care and support plan and provide you with assistance. As Mr C only had one area of need the Council assessed he was not eligible for support from the Council. Mr C’s ex-partner provides him with support.
  4. The Care Act guidance says the Council must give a written explanation for its decision not to meet non-eligible needs. This explanation must include information and advice on how the person can reduce or delay their needs in future.
  5. The end of the assessment document has a section called ‘information and advice’ in which the Council meets the requirements explained in paragraph eight. However, the Council failed to give Mr C a copy of the assessment document.
  6. Mr C had to chase the Council several times, he made a ‘subject access request’ to obtain his data by law, and eventually got a copy of the assessment document over three months after the assessment in response to his formal complaint. The Council says it e-mailed Mr C the outcome and advice in October but has not evidenced that.
  7. In January 2019 Mr C wrote to the Council following receipt of his assessment, to ask for a review. Mr C disagreed with the outcome as felt the Council had not properly reflected his needs, wishes and wellbeing. Mr C said the Council failed to apply the ‘Fair Access to Care Services 2003’ and the ‘Prioritising need in the context of putting people first guidance 2010’. However, these pieces of guidance are no longer applicable following the introduction of the Care Act 2014, which came into force in April 2015.
  8. The Council agreed to do a review of Mr C’s care and support needs. Mr C was now living in another council’s area, placed there in temporary accommodation by Lambeth to relieve homelessness. Mr C told the Council that the council where he was living had assessed him and provided equipment to manage his needs. The Council wrote to Mr C and explained it was right for the current council to undertake any assessment of his care and support needs as he was now living in its borough.
  9. The Council says it contacted Mr C in January 2019 so there is a case note recording Mr C’s views of his functional ability and desired outcomes, though it has not evidenced this. Mr C’s letter seeking a review of the assessment is held on the Council’s file, which details his concerns. Therefore, alongside the assessment the Council’s file also shows Mr C’s views disputing it.

Was there fault and injustice?

  1. The Council failed to share a copy of the assessment or a written explanation of the outcome and advice, until over three months after the assessment. This was fault, and caused Mr C frustration, time and trouble chasing the matter. The Council apologised for its delay, which is appropriate action in response to acknowledge the impact on Mr C. The Council has also spoken with relevant managers who have spoken with relevant staff to remind them of the correct practice to share assessments. This should help to prevent future problems.
  2. When Mr C raised concerns about the assessment the Council offered a review and noted his concerns on its file. This is appropriate action in response.
  3. When Mr C asked for a review he was living in another council’s area. That council had already assessed Mr C and provided equipment. The Council was correct to say there was nothing further it could then do, the council where Mr C is living has accepted responsibility to meet his assessed care needs. There is no purpose to be served by Lambeth Council completing a review as Mr C wishes.
  4. You can challenge the accuracy of personal data held about you by an organisation and ask for it to be corrected or deleted. If your data is incomplete, you can ask the organisation to complete it by adding more details. If Mr C wishes to use his ‘right to rectification’ he can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office for further information.

Back to top

Final decision

  1. There was fault by the Council which caused Mr C injustice. I am satisfied the Council has already taken appropriate action by apologising to Mr C for its delay sending his assessment and reminding staff of the requirements to share assessments. There is nothing further the Ombudsman can add. I have completed my investigation on the basis the Council has taken satisfactory action to acknowledge Mr C’s frustration, time and trouble.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Print this page

LGO logogram

Review your privacy settings

Required cookies

These cookies enable the website to function properly. You can only disable these by changing your browser preferences, but this will affect how the website performs.

View required cookies

Analytical cookies

Google Analytics cookies help us improve the performance of the website by understanding how visitors use the site.
We recommend you set these 'ON'.

View analytical cookies

In using Google Analytics, we do not collect or store personal information that could identify you (for example your name or address). We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data. Google has developed a tool to help you opt out of Google Analytics cookies.

Privacy settings