Summary: There is no fault by the Council. It is willing to assess Ms X and to do this it needs her consent to an assessment for social care support. We have not investigated a complaint about data protection because the Information Commissioner is best placed to deal with it.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council:
1. Refused to provide adult social care despite her having disabilities arising from a long-term health condition.
2. Breached data protection law by keeping incorrect information.
2. She said this caused avoidable distress and a loss of support to meet her needs.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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

What I have and have not investigated

6. I have not investigated complaint (b) as it is a complaint about breaching data protection law. The Information Commissioner is the expert body to deal with this complaint and there are no good reasons for us to investigate.
7. I have exercised discretion to investigate complaint (a) from January 2022 event though some of this period is late. This is due to Ms X’s ill health which may have made it more difficult for her to complain to us. Matters before 2022 are late and not practical for me to investigate due to the passage of time.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

8. I considered the complaint to us, the Council’s responses to the complaint, the Council’s records of contact about Ms X and information from Ms X about her complaint and health.
9. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

10. There is no record of Ms X contacting the Council to asking for adult social care support in 2022. In March 2023, she emailed the Council about other matters (which I am not investigating), but again, there was no request for help or support from adult social care.
11. In June 2023, a manager noted Ms X had asked for her record to be deleted.
12. In July, an officer noted a call with Ms X where she asked for an appointment with the Director of Adult Social Care to speak about a legal matter.
13. In September, a manager emailed Ms X to arrange a meeting with her to discuss a complaint she had made and other matters which I am not investigating. The meeting between Ms X and a manager took place. The record of the meeting indicates Ms X’s support worker was present. There is no record of Ms X asking for an adult social care assessment or adult social care services.
14. The manager confirmed to me that he met with Ms X in September 2023 and she did not request support at that time. The manager said the Council would assess Ms X with her consent and would identify if she had any eligible social care needs. But she would need to give her consent.
15. The Council’s response to complaint (a) said it had opened Ms X’s case to the adult social care team following a referral from the police in 2016.
16. The Council told us there were occasions when Ms X had requested support before 2022, but on each occasion she had refused to consent to the assessment or share personal information. The Council went on to explain this meant it could not complete assessments. It said it was happy to carry out an assessment.

Findings

17. Undergoing a social care assessment is the route to obtaining adult social care support. To carry one out, the Council needs permission and co-operation from the person involved.
18. The Council has confirmed it is willing to carry out a social care assessment. If Ms X wants to co-operate and share her personal information, then she can have one. This is what is supposed to happen and there is no fault.

Back to top

Final decision

19. There is no fault by the Council. Ms X can have a social care assessment, but she will need to co-operate with officers and give her consent in order for this to take place.
20. I have not investigated a complaint about data protection because the Information Commissioner is best placed to deal with it.
21. I completed the investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman