Summary: The complainant’s representative (Miss X) said the Council failed to provide her son (Y) with the adequate social care support when he became an adult. She also complained about the Council’s lack of support for her as Y’s carer. We did not find fault in the way the Council carried out its social care duties for Y and Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s failings to provide her and Y with social care support. She says the Council failed to:
1. Support Y’s social care needs once he became an adult through:
1. Carrying out Y’s care needs assessment without delay;
2. preparing a care and support plan for Y;
3. Carrying out financial assessments for Y;
2. Provide support for Miss X a Y’s carer.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. As explained under paragraph four we would normally investigate events which happened in the last 12 months before a complainant came to us. Miss X complained to us in March 2023. I consider there are good reasons to investigate events which happened from October 2021 for the following reasons:
• Miss X first complained to the Council in August 2022. In view of the complexity of Miss X’s complaint it took some weeks to finalise her statement of complaint. The Council provided its stage one response at the beginning of March 2023, rather than at the beginning of January as it had stated in the acknowledgement of Miss X’s complaint. Miss X should not bear the negative consequences of the Council’s delays.
• it would be difficult to assess the Council’s actions from March 2022 without looking at the events around Y’s Annual Review which took place in October 2021.
7. I did not consider there are good reasons to investigate the earlier events. Miss X told me she had not complained before as had had no knowledge of the complaint process. As a single mother she also focused entirely on supporting her children and managing her own mental health. Although I appreciate Miss X’s difficulties in her specific circumstances, these are not sufficient reasons to extend my investigation beyond October 2021. This is because:
• The Council’s flexibility on considering communication from its service users was demonstrated when Miss X expressed her dissatisfaction with the Council in August 2022. She did it in an informal email, which the Council logged as a formal complaint a month later. In a similar way at any time in the past Miss X could have expressed her dissatisfaction with the way the Council supported Y.
• The evidence suggests throughout the years Miss X had contact with various professionals supporting Y such as his college staff members, SEN case officers and social workers. She could have communicated her dissatisfaction with the Council’s services to them.
8. I did not investigate any assessments which took place in 2023 as they would not have been considered by the Council through its complaint handling. The Council should have an opportunity to respond to any concerns first, as indicated in the paragraph five of this decision.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I spoke with Miss X and considered the information she provided.
10. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided.
11. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative framework

Social care assessments

12. When exercising their social care functions councils must follow the Care and Support Statutory guidance (Statutory Guidance) issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, which is based on the Care Act 2014, unless they have very good reasons not to.
13. Councils must carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. They must provide an assessment to everyone regardless of their finances or whether the council thinks the person has eligible needs. The assessment must be of the adult’s needs and how they impact on their well-being and the results they want to achieve. It must also involve the individual and where suitable their carer or any other person they might want involved. (Care Act 2014 S.9 and 10)
14. Councils must carry out assessments over a suitable and reasonable timescale considering the urgency of needs and any variation in those needs. Councils should tell people when their assessment will take place and keep them informed throughout the assessment. (Care and Support statutory guidance paragraph 6.24)
15. Councils must meet the adult’s eligible care needs after determining them through a care needs assessment if:
• The adult is ordinarily resident in the council’s area;
• The adult’s accrued costs do not exceed the cap on care costs; and
• There is no charge for meeting needs or one of the specified conditions apply.

(The Care Act 2014 Section 18 (1))

16. When meeting needs the local authority should ensure the process is person-centred and involving and taking all reasonable steps to agree the plan with the person. The local authority must take into consideration the individual’s preference. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance paragraph 10.19 and 10.20)
17. Councils have a legal responsibility to provide a care and support plan. The care and support plan should consider what the person has, what they want to achieve, what they can do by themselves or with existing support and what care and support may be available in the local area. The support plan must include a personal budget, which is the money the council has worked out it will cost to arrange the necessary care and support for that person. (Care Act 2014 Schedule 24)

Carers

18. If a carer refuses to have an assessment a council is not required to carry it out. If a carer who refused an assessment asks for it at some later stage, a council must do so. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance paragraphs 6.20 and 6.21)
19. Councils should act promptly to meet people’s needs. The lack of a carer’s assessment must not be a barrier to action. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance paragraph 5.11)

What happened

Background

20. Y is 24 and is autistic. The Council has been maintaining an EHC plan for Y since he was very young.
21. In September 2015 Y started attending a further education college (the College).
22. Every March from 2018 to 2022 the Council carried out social care financial assessments for Y.
23. In January 2019 the Council started Y’s care needs assessment, which was completed in mid-October. During this assessment Miss X declined an offer of a carer’s assessment.
24. The Council carried out Y’s Mental Capacity Assessment (MCA) a year later. Y was considered capable of deciding on his care and support.
25. At the beginning of September 2021 the Council decided to allocate for Y a social worker from a transition team, who would undertake an assessment to support Y’s transition to Adult Social Care.
26. Shortly after her appointment, a new social worker (Social Worker 1) visited the family and advised of the community activities and placements available locally. Miss X explained nothing would meet Y’s needs as he wanted to complete another level three course at the College. Social Worker 2 discussed with Miss X the possibility of a carer’s assessment but Miss X declined. Following the meeting Social Worker 1 referred Y to various services, including the Learning Disability Health team, the Council’s advocacy service, OT service, benefits advice service and the Education and Employment team.
27. In mid-September the Council issued Y’s care and support plan.
28. In the autumn of 2021 Y’s anxiety increased. Miss X reported the deterioration of Y’s mental health difficulties.

Social care

29. In October 2021 Social Worker 1 carried out a review of Y’s need for care and support and at the beginning of December assessed Y’s mental capacity to express his wishes and feeling on the care and support he needed.
30. Following continuing review of Y’s circumstances Social Worker 1 decided to issue a new care and support plan for him. She also referred him to an Occupational Therapist (OT) to assess his assisted living needs.
31. The Council issued a new care and support plan for Y in the second half of January 2022, specifying £115 as direct payments for Y’s Personal Assistant.
32. At the end of February Social Worker 1 discussed with Y his care and support needs. Social Worker 1 suggested using a specific non-residential provider of care services (the Care Provider) to support Y with shopping, gaming, going for walks and visiting community. Y said he would prefer a male carer. Y was receiving a weekly direct payment for ten hours of Personal Assistant. Y’s brother was his Personal Assistant but due to the worsening in their relationship this support had not been utilised for some time.
33. Social Worker 1 reviewed Y’s social care support in May 2022.
34. In November a new social worker was allocated to Y (Social Worker 2). Because of Miss X’s concerns about Y’s speech and language needs and eating difficulties Social Worker 2 wrote to Y’s General Practitioner (GP) asking for a referral to SLT and dietician services. She also referred Y to an OT for a sensory assessment and to the Care Provider.
35. In May 2023 the OT carried out a sensory assessment for Y, identifying Y’s need for a block of direct interventions from an OT with specific qualifications as well as regular reviews of the College’s implementation of the OT strategies.

Carer’s services

36. At the beginning of December 2022 the Council carried out Miss X’s carer’s assessment. During the assessment it provided Miss X information and advice on:
• Carers’ services
• Counselling and emotional support
• Carers’ direct payments
• Carer’s Leisure Card
37. Miss X accessed a leisure card and received support from the mental health outreach to reduce and manage her anxiety. She also received a one-off direct payment to enable her to take a short break and support her contact with a family.

Analysis

Supporting Y’s social care needs once he became an adult

38. Carrying out a care needs assessment without delay. The assessment of Y’s care needs happened before autumn 2021 when we started investigating the complaint brought by Miss X. For the reasons explained in paragraph seven of this decision I did not, therefore, include it in my investigation.
39. Preparing a care and support plan for Y. There is evidence of the Council’s social care continuous involvement with Y at least since the autumn of 2021. Social workers were involved in Y’s Annual Reviews and carried out reviews of Y’s care and support plans.
40. Carrying out a financial assessment for Y. Every year in March, starting from 2018 when Y was 18, the Council carried out his financial assessment.
41. I found that at least since October 2021 the Council’s Adult Social Care team has continued to be involved in Y’s support through various assessments, reviews and participation in his Annual Reviews. At times Y refused to engage with the services offered to him but this was outside the Council’s control. I did not find the Council failed in its duties in this area of Miss X’s complaint.

Providing support for Miss X as a carer

42. There was a history of Miss X declining offers of a carer’s assessment, including in the autumn of 2021. As explained in paragraph 18 councils do not have to carry out carers’ assessments if they are refused. I did not, therefore, find fault with the Council for not carrying out Miss X’s carer’s assessment until December 2022.
43. I have not seen any evidence the Council failed to support Miss X in her role as Y’s carer.

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Final decision

44. I did not find fault in the Council’s social care support for Y and Miss X.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman