Summary: Mrs X complained the Council has carried out a flawed Care Act assessment of her daughter’s (Y) needs. Mrs X says as a result her daughter did not get the level of care and support she needs which has caused distress and uncertainty. The Council was not at fault as it carried out the assessment in line with the Care Act.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council has carried out a flawed Care Act assessment of her daughter’s (Y) needs. Mrs X says as a result her daughter is not getting the level of care and support she needs. This has caused distress and uncertainty.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke to Mrs X about her complaint and considered information she provided.
5. I considered information from the Council.
6. I considered the relevant law and guidance.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on this draft decision. I considered comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant Law and Guidance

8. Sections 9 and 10 of the Care Act 2014 require councils to 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 wellbeing 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.
9. 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.
10. The Care Act 2014 gives councils a legal responsibility to provide a care and support plan (or a support plan for a carer). The care and support plan should consider what needs 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. When preparing a care and support plan the council must involve any carer the adult has. 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.

What happened

11. Mrs X has a daughter Y who is a young adult and has special educational needs. At the time of the concerns, Y had an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan in place and was in a 52-week residential educational placement. Y was due transition to adulthood when the placement ended in August 2024.
12. In December 2023, the Council carried out a Care Act assessment of Y’s needs. An appropriate person accompanied Y to the assessment who was aware of Y’s needs. The assessment says Y wished to live independently after her educational placement ended. The assessment considered Y’s needs and identified she could achieve the following outcomes with some or no support:
• Able to make use of her home safely;
• Access to work;
• Being appropriately clothed;
• Maintaining a habitable home;
• Maintaining personal hygiene;
• Managing toilet needs;
• Making use of facilities/services.
13. The outcome of the assessment was she did not meet the threshold for adult social care services. However, the assessment identified organisations and support that Y could access to assist her when living independently.
14. Mrs X raised a stage one complaint in February 2024 about how the Council conducted the assessment and the findings of this. Mrs X complained the Council did not consult her or Y’s therapist as part of the assessment. Mrs X also disagreed about Y being able to live fully independently at that time and not meeting the threshold for adult social care services.
15. The Council issued a stage one response in March 2024 not upholding most of the complaint. The Council accepted it did not consult Y’s therapist but has said it gathered their views indirectly through the review of Y’s EHC Plan. The Council says it carried out the assessment independently of her parents as Y is an adult with mental capacity. However, the Council says Mrs X had an opportunity to share their views particularly on the assessment recommendations. The Council said it carried out the assessment in line with the requirements of the Care Act and the guidance.
16. Mrs X raised a stage two complaint the same month. She said the assessment did not consider Y’s complex needs. Mrs X also says it is unclear what support Y will have to access the community whilst living independently with not being eligible for adult social care services.
17. The Council issued a stage two complaint response in May 2024. The Council added the social worker who carried out the assessment was an experienced practitioner. It said there is nothing to suggest they could not gain a clear understanding of Y's needs, circumstances, wishes and feelings through the assessment interview.
18. Mrs X was unhappy with the Council’s handling of the matter and complained to us.
19. Following the complaint to us Mrs X told us Y has moved into semi-independent shared accommodation for people with disabilities since leaving the residential educational placement which they are both happy with. There are two daytime carers and one night-time carer Y has access to in the accommodation. Mrs X had an independent social care assessment commissioned. She says Y’s current accommodation is line with the recommendations from the assessment.

My findings

20. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to decide what, if any, care and support a person needs. That is the Council’s role. The Ombudsman’s role is to consider if the Council has followed the correct process of establishing a person’s needs and if it acted correctly when this process was complete. In doing so we look at the information the council considered, and if it took account of the service user’s wishes.
21. Mrs X does not agree with the outcome of the assessment or the view that Y could live independently at that time. She says the Council did not consider Y’s complex needs. The Council met with Y and listened to her views. A familiar and trusted person attended the assessment meeting with Y and did not raise any concerns about Y’s answers. Y’s wish to live independently is documented in other social work documents.
22. The care needs assessment and support plan considered Y’s needs, the support she was receiving and what would be required going forwards to meet her needs. There is no fault with how the Council assessed Y’s care needs or how it decided what support she requires. Whilst Mrs X disagrees with the level of support required, this is down to the social worker’s professional judgement and a decision they are entitled to make.
23. Mrs X also complains the Council did not consult her or Y’s therapist as part of the assessment. The records show it did seek Mrs X’s and the therapist’s views, albeit indirectly. It also says it carried out the assessment independently of her parents as Y is an adult with mental capacity. There is no fault in how the Council has carried out the assessment.

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Final decision

24. I have completed this investigation and found no fault with the Council’s actions.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman