Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council delayed in finalising her brother’s care and support plan. That is because the Council has now finalised his plan and agreed to pay Miss X £200, for the avoidable uncertainty and distress caused by the delay. Therefore, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the support she received from Adult Social Care in relation to her brother, Mr Y. Specifically, she said it failed to finalise Mr Y’s care and support plan meaning he did not receive the overnight respite breaks he should of from July 2021.
2. Miss X wants the Council to finalise the plan to ensure Mr Y can access respite.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X has lived with Mr Y for several years. Mr Y receives a community package of care for 42 hours a week. Miss X receives direct payments for his care. Mr Y also receives 21 overnight breaks a year to provide Miss X respite from her caring role.
7. The Council started to review Mr Y’s care and support plan in July 2021, however, it did not finalise that review. That meant although Mr Y’s 42 hours of care a week remained in place, Miss X did not receive the direct payments needed to pay for his overnight breaks.
8. Miss X complained to the Council that it had delayed in finalising the support plan. She was also unhappy about the wider support it provided. The Council apologised for the delay in finalising the support plan. It said that was because of staffing and the COVID-19 pandemic. It authorised for Miss X to use Mr Y’s unused weekly direct payment to book a week’s respite. It also reallocated Mr Y’s case to a new social worker.
9. Miss X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman. Subsequently, the Council has agreed to pay Miss X £200 in recognition of the avoidable uncertainty and distress caused by its delays in finalising Mr Y’s support plan for overnight respite. The Council has also confirmed it has finalised Mr Y’s care and support plan. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint further, as there is nothing further investigation would achieve.

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Agreed action

10. Within one month of my final decision the Council has agreed to pay Miss X £200 to remedy any avoidable distress and uncertainty caused by its delays in issuing Mr Y’s support plan.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is nothing further investigation would achieve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman