Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how to meet adult social care and support needs. The Council has explained the actions it needs to take to review the person’s care and support plan and to provide a carer's assessment to the complainant. An Ombudsman investigation would not achieve a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms B says the Council’s review of Ms C’s adult social care needs resulted in no changes to her care plan, but the Council then made changes several months later. Ms B is stressed and feels she cannot provide the support she does with the changes the Council is making.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council is responsible to meet Ms C’s adult social care needs. It does this by providing a personal budget which is paid by direct payment managed by Ms B. Ms C lives with Ms B, so Ms B provides support. Ms B also employs personal assistants to meet Ms C’s needs. Ms B needs regular respite to enable her to keep up her caring role on top of upholding a job and managing her own health needs.
6. The Council must review Ms C’s care and support plan at least once a year. At the 2023 review the Council decided no changes were needed to Ms C’s package. Ms B says nine months later the Council changed what she was allowed to spend direct payments on to meet her respite needs. It is unclear what triggered this change, the Council should only make changes following review. Nine months after could not be considered as being based on a recent review of the care and support plan.
7. If the Ombudsman was to investigate the likely outcome would be to recommend the Council reviews how it will meet Ms C’s needs and those of Ms B as a carer. In response to Ms B’s complaint the Council explained it would need to complete a review of Ms C’s needs and a carer's assessment with Ms B. The Council would support Ms B to resolve any outstanding direct payment issues or concerns.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would achieve a different outcome to that suggested by the Council. If following review Ms B does not agree with the care and support plan, and if Ms C lacks capacity to decide about her care support, then Ms B can ask the Court of Protection to settle a dispute about how best to meet care and support needs. If Ms C has capacity, then Ms B can make a new complaint. The Ombudsman cannot say what the Council must include in the care and support plan, so cannot achieve the outcomes Ms B wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman