Summary: Miss B complained the Council failed to help her adult son access education and mental health support. She also complained it did not safeguard her from his abusive behaviour. Miss B said this caused her mental and physical health to worsen. We found fault with the Council for its delay undertaking a carer's assessment for Miss B and a Care Act assessment for Mr C. We also found fault with its decision making not to start safeguarding enquiries. The Council will make a financial payment for the injustice caused to Miss B, and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained the Council failed to help her adult son access education and mental health support. She also complained it did not safeguard her from his abusive behaviour. Miss B said this caused her mental and physical health to worsen.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

4. I considered:
• Miss B’s complaint and the information she provided;
• documents supplied by the Council;
• relevant legislation and guidelines; and
• the Council’s policies and procedures.
5. Miss B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on a draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Legislation and guidance

6. Section 1 of the Care Act 2014 states councils must promote wellbeing when carrying out any of their care and support functions. This is referred to as ‘the wellbeing principle’. It applies equally to adults with care and support needs and their carers.
7. The Care Act 2014 and The Department of Health and Social Care’s care and support statutory guidance sets out councils’ responsibilities to assess the needs of adults in their area. An assessment identifies an individual’s needs, how they impact on their well-being and what the person wants to achieve in day-to-day life.
8. An adult’s needs are eligible when they arise from physical or mental impairment or illness; the adult cannot achieve two or more specified outcomes because of those needs; and there is likely to be a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing.
9. The outcomes include:
• Developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships.
• Accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering.
10. Once a council has determined eligibility, it must provide the person assessed with a copy of its decision.
11. The Care Act 2014 defines a carer as someone who ‘provides or intends to provide care for another adult’.
12. Where it appears to the council that a carer may have needs for support, it must offer a carer’s assessment. Carers’ assessments must seek to find out not only the carer’s needs for support, but also the sustainability of the caring role itself, which includes both the practical and emotional support the carer provides to the adult. Factored into this must be a consideration of whether the carer is, and will continue to be, able and willing to care for the adult needing care.
13. The national eligibility threshold for carers is set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015. The threshold is based on the impact a carer’s needs for support has on their wellbeing. Where a carer has eligible support needs, the council has a duty, or in some cases a power, to arrange support to meet their needs.
14. The Care Act 2014 section 42 requires councils to make enquiries, or to ask others to make enquiries, where they reasonably suspect that an adult in their area with care and support needs is at risk of abuse or neglect and is unable to protect themselves.  The purpose of the enquiry is to establish what, if any, action is required. Safeguarding duties apply to family carers experiencing intentional or unintentional harm from the adult they are supporting.
15. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provided a statutory definition of domestic abuse. Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if—
• A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other, and
• the behaviour is abusive.
16. Behaviour is “abusive” if it consists of any of the following—
• physical or sexual abuse;
• violent or threatening behaviour;
• controlling or coercive behaviour;
• economic abuse;
• psychological, emotional or other abuse;
17. It does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct.

Back to top

What happened

18. Miss B lives with her son Mr C. Mr C is a young adult. Mr C has Autism and Asperger’s. Miss B has physical and mental health difficulties.
19. In June 2021, Miss B contacted the Council for support. She explained her son’s diagnoses and said she was struggling to cope with his behaviour. She told the Council he was becoming abusive towards her, and she might have to ask him to leave the home they share.
20. The Council emailed Miss B’s doctor. It said Mr C’s behaviour had become more challenging and Miss B was having to phone the police because Mr C was threatening and abusing her. The Council advised it was assigning the case to its preparing for adulthood team as high priority. It asked her doctor to contact her urgently.
21. The preparing for adulthood team contacted Miss B. Miss B advised Mr C had been physically aggressive and broken property. Miss B asked the Council if there was someone he could talk to about his problems and to help him to address them in the right way. The Council suggested referring Mr C to a mental health charity for support. The Council spoke to Mr C about the referral, he did not consent. Miss B said she would refer him when he agreed. She said she had spoken to Mr C’s doctor, and they were going to refer Mr C to mental health services. The preparing for adulthood team closed the case.
22. The community adult learning disability team contacted the Council after receiving a referral for Mr C from his doctor. The team checked whether Mr C had a learning disability, the Council confirmed he did not. Miss B disagrees and states her son has learning/ developmental disabilities. The team decided Mr C did not meet its criteria.
23. In July 2021, Miss B contacted the Council for support. She said his challenging behaviour was unbearable and was affecting her health. The Council told her to contact emergency services or social services if she felt safeguarding was needed.
24. Miss B contacted the Council and asked it to remove her son because he was smashing up their house. The Council told her to phone the police and updated the preparing for adulthood team. The preparing for adulthood team contacted Miss B. Miss B explained the situation. The team agreed to send Mr C a behaviour contract. The contract listed the rules Miss B expected him to adhere to while living with her, these included:
• No physical aggression towards your mother. This includes verbal threats of violence
• Do not cause damage to any part of the building or to your mothers' property.
25. The contract said the first time Mr C broke these rules a social worker would visit to confirm the rules, the second time Miss B would give him 28 days’ notice to leave the property, and on the third occasion the police would be called to remove him from the property immediately. The team sent Mr C a copy of the behaviour contract in the post. The letter invited him to contact the Council if he wanted to discuss his circumstances and how it could support him to meet his goals.
26. Miss B contacted the Council in August 2021 because Mr C refused to open the letter the Council sent him with the behaviour contract. Miss B reported that he was being verbally aggressive towards her. She asked the Council if it could visit them because she was struggling to live with Mr C and she wanted to find a resolution rather than having to ask him to move out. She reported that she was struggling emotionally, and her physical health was declining.
27. The Council arranged a home visit but had to cancel because a worker was unavailable. Miss B cancelled the next home visit because she was unwell. The Council left Miss B a message in September 2021 to arrange a home visit, but she did not respond. Miss B said she responded to the Council’s voicemail.
28. In January 2022, the Council received a Merlin report from the police. A Merlin report records safeguarding concerns the police have about an individual. The police sent the report following an incident where Miss B called the police because she believed Mr C was smashing up his room. The report included details of three other times the police were called to their property. These incidents occurred in 2021. They involved Mr C damaging property and sending Miss B threatening messages.
29. The Council contacted Miss B and offered to refer her a carer's support group. Miss B said she was unhappy with social services and declined.
30. The Council received another Merlin report from the police in February 2022. The police had attended an incident where Mr C had smashed his bed. The police completed a domestic abuse, stalking and ‘honour’ risk assessment (DASH). This said Miss B was worried Mr C could hurt her, and she could hurt him. She told the police the situation was getting worse.
31. In March 2022, a domestic abuse organisation told the Council it considered Miss B was a victim of domestic abuse from her son, Mr C. The Council spoke to Miss B in April 2022 and agreed it needed to consider its duties in relation to domestic abuse.
32. The preparing for adulthood team told Miss B it was going to arrange a meeting with the professionals who were working with Mr C. Miss B advised it would be best if Mr C moved out. The preparing for adulthood team said it would tell Mr C about the meeting and ask him for his views about it supporting him to move out. This meeting did not happen.
33. The preparing for adulthood team carried out a Care Act assessment for Mr C. It decided he was eligible for support under in the following areas:
• Developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships.
• Accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering.
34. It noted Mr C’s wanted to enrol in a study programme to gain qualifications to get a well-paid job. He agreed the Council could signpost him to organisations that could help him to get an apprenticeship. The Council sent Mr C a copy of his Care Act assessment in May 2022. Mr C sent it back with changes and further information. The Council amended the assessment and sent Mr C a revised version. Mr C told the Council he would not sign the assessment because it contained errors.
35. The Council undertook a carer's assessment for Miss B. She said because of her caring responsibilities and lack of support from the Council her physical and mental health had worsened. The Council decided Miss B was eligible for support with managing her emotional wellbeing. It said a mental health charity had offered her support sessions and she was linked with the community mental health team. The preparing for adulthood team said it would give Miss B information for an organisation that could help her understand Mr C’s diagnosis and give her techniques for managing their relationship. It also said it would refer her to carer’s support for counselling. It noted she was eligible for carer’s respite, and it would discuss providing this through direct payments.
36. The Council sent Miss B a copy of its draft carers assessment. Miss B told the Council her and her son’s assessments were inaccurate and did not reflect the information they shared. She said the assessments were rushed and workers were rude and disrespectful. She told the Council she did not agree with its assessments or want its support.

Complaint

37. In February 2022, Ms B complained about the service she received from adult social care.  She complained about poor communication, its failure to consider the impact of her son’s behaviour on her, and its suggestion it would only offer support if she reported her son to the police.
38. The Council said:
• There had been a pattern of meetings not going ahead and telephone calls disrupted by weak Wi-Fi signal. It said there was no evidence the Council acted in a way that made it more difficult for Ms B to have contact with it. It did not uphold this part of her complaint.
• There was a delay undertaking her son’s Care Act and her carer’s assessment. The Council apologised and upheld her complaint.
• If her son posed a risk to her there was little social services could do to influence and change his behaviour. It told her if his behaviour peaked to certain levels, she would need to get the police to intervene and remove her son from her home to remove the risk. It advised the police would then work with the relevant team to assess his needs. It said the police do not immediately prosecute young people with challenging behaviour, but work with others to create a risk management plan. It did not uphold this part of her complaint.
39. The Council said it would take the following action:
• It would ensure it linked with mental health services to decide the best course of action going forward. It said it would update her.    
• Where a person has a mixed presentation of needs it would ensure that it links with mental health services to decide which team is most suitable to undertake a Care Act and carers assessment.
• Review its new protocol for managing issues that are dealt with while staff are on duty to decide whether it has improved service delivery for young people and their carers 
40. In response to my enquiries, the Council advised it had made the following improvements:
• Trains new workers before they join the duty rota.
• Records duty contacts and advises management of any follow-up actions.
• Holds regular reflective practice meetings, which the preparing for adulthood team is part of, to both inform and improve services; and,
• Presents learning from complaints to Heads of Service and Team Managers so it can implement well-informed improvements.

Analysis

41. Councils must undertake an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. The Council significantly delayed undertaking a Care Act assessment for Mr C and a carer's assessment for Miss B. Miss B asked the Council for support in June 2021, it was not until May 2022 that the Council undertook these assessments. The assessments found both Miss B and Mr C were eligible for support. Throughout the period of delay, Miss B asked the Council for support, but it was not given. It is therefore unsurprising that Miss B lost faith in the Council. If the Council had assessed them sooner, it would have offered services earlier. This may have prevented the situation worsening and Miss B’s relationship with the Council breaking down. The Council’s delay assessing Mr C and Miss B was fault. The Council accepted this within its complaint response.
42. As Mr C had eligible needs under the Care Act 2014 and Miss B was his carer, the Council had a duty to make safeguarding enquiries if it reasonably suspected there was abuse or neglect. In response to enquiries, the Council said, “[Miss B] did not meet the criteria for safeguarding because we established that she was not a vulnerable adult, and was not reliant on support to meet her needs, whether or not she had such services.”. The Council failed to recognise its duties to Miss B as a carer and this was fault.
43. When I asked why the Council did not start safeguarding inquiries, it said, “We have never had nor have any alerts been raised in respect of safeguarding concerns about [Mr C] towards his mother, or anyone else, since he has been known to us, which is from June 2021.” This is not true. As well as Miss B‘s reports, in February 2022, the police raised specific concerns about domestic abuse from Mr C to Miss B, and in March 2022, a domestic abuse organisation told the Council it considered Miss B a victim of abuse from her son, Mr C.
44. The Council said it considered whether Miss B was at risk from her son but felt it had very clear evidence that Miss B was not. It said it based its decision on a range of facts including:
• “The Merlin report received recorded that the officers did not observe or anticipate that [Miss B] was at risk of harm from her son.
• In our interactions with [Miss B] we found her to be a very articulate woman who was able to verbally articulate her experiences and needs well.
• [Miss B] advised us that she did not feel at risk from her son advising that he has never meaningful put her at risk or threatened her in any way.
• When we visited the home, we did not observe any signs that [Mr C] was at risk from her son, nor that [Mr C] was acting in a threatening way towards his mother.
45. The Council’s decision making was flawed. The facts it used to make its decision are not consistent with its records and in many cases are contradictions. The police raised concerns about domestic abuse; being articulate does not mean you cannot be a victim of abuse; Miss B repeatedly told the Council she was at risk from her son; the Council’s assessment of Mr C’s behaviour was based on a single visit. The Council’s flawed decision making about whether to start safeguarding enquiries was fault, and it raises questions about the Council’s understanding of domestic abuse and safeguarding. This fault creates uncertainty about whether Miss B was at greater risk of harm because the Council’s failure to properly consider whether to initiate safeguarding enquiries.
46. The Merlin report from February 2022 reported that Miss B said she was concerned Mr C could hurt her, and she could hurt him. There is no evidence the Council considered whether Mr C was at risk and should be subject of a safeguarding enquiry. This was fault. This creates uncertainty about whether Mr C was at greater risk of harm because of this fault.
47. As a result of this situation and the Council’s faults, the relationship between the Council and Miss B has broken down. To rebuild this relationship, I have recommended the Council carry out new assessments for Miss B and Mr C to be undertaken by officers who have not previously been involved in the case.

Back to top

Agreed action

48. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will:
• Apologise to Miss B for the faults found in this investigation.
• Pay Miss B £750 for the distress she experienced, uncertainty about whether she was at greater risk of harm, and the time and trouble she was put to because of the Council’s faults.
• Pay Mr C £200 for the uncertainty about whether he was at greater risk of harm because of the Council’s faults.
49. Within two months of the final decision, the Council will:
• Arrange to reassess Mr C under the Care Act 2014. This should be undertaken by an officer with experience of working with people with autism. The officer should not have been previously involved in the case. If the assessment recommends services are provided, the Council should backdate these to July 2021. If this is not possible, the Council should offer a financial remedy in line with our guidance on remedies.
• Arrange to reassess Miss B’s needs as a carer. This should be undertaken by an officer with experience of working with people with autism. The officer should not have been previously involved in the case. If the assessment recommends services are provided, the Council should backdate these to July 2021. If this is not possible, the Council should offer a financial remedy in line with our guidance on remedies.
50. Within three months of the final decision, the Council will:
• Train all staff in the preparing for adulthood team on domestic abuse and the Council’s safeguarding responsibilities to those with eligible needs under the Care Act and their carers.
• Develop and disseminate a safeguarding procedure for the preparing for adulthood team. This should include making enquiries of other departments and agencies.
51. The Council should provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has completed these actions.

Back to top

Final decision

I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. Miss B was caused an injustice by the actions of the Council. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy that injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman