Summary: Mr X complained that the Council does not provide enough support to meet his needs for social contact. The evidence shows the Council has properly considered Mr X’s needs and provided the support to meet them. In the absence of fault in the way the Council has reached its decision it is not for us to criticise it.

The complaint

1. An advocate complains on behalf of Mr X that the Council has not provided enough support to meet his needs for socialisation. Mr X says as a result he feels lonely and can be subject to harassment when he goes out alone at night.

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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 considered evidence provided by Mr X’s advocate and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mr X’s advocate and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Everyone whose needs the council meets must receive a personal budget as part of the care and support plan. The personal budget gives the person clear information about the money allocated to meet the needs identified in the assessment and recorded in the plan. The detail of how the person will use their personal budget will be in the care and support plan. The personal budget must always be enough to meet the person’s care and support needs.

What happened

9. Mr X is a middle-aged man with some learning difficulties. He lives alone and complains of feeling lonely. Agency carers provide 5 hours (double-handed) support to him a week which includes help with preparing meals, keeping a habitable home environment and developing relationships in the local community. He has four hours of support at weekends for meal preparations, maintaining his environment and moving in the community. Sometimes he goes out alone at night: he says he has been the victim of some assaults and harassment from local people. He has been requesting more care hours to help him socialise. He says an extra hour at weekends would enable him to go beyond his local area.
10. In January 2025 the Council reviewed his current needs and package of care. Mr X agreed to holding the review although his advocate could not be present because of scheduling difficulties. At the review Mr X requested more support hours again. The social worker recorded “We revisited the topic of additional weekday support hours. During our discussion, (Mr X) expressed that these hours could help reduce his loneliness and might prevent him from going out into the community after his support ends for the day. (Mr X) currently experiences a high level of reported abuse incidents in the community from a hostile group known to him but does not want to stop his evening outings.  He had previously suggested that no amount of extra support would stop his going out.”
11. The social worker suggested requesting a small extra package of one hour on a weekday, but Mr X wanted a guarantee of a chosen worker and said he only wanted one-to-one support. The social worker said she could not guarantee his request would be met. She noted the agency who provided his weekend cover said there was no need for additional support. The social worker also suggested other options to increase his social contacts such as extra care housing or joining a group but Mr X was unwilling to engage with those. No changes to the support hours or care plan were agreed at the end of the review.
12. The social worker shared the review with Mr X’s advocate. The advocate said she would go through the current review with Mr X. The social worker said she would be happy to meet Mr X again but there would be no change to the options currently on offer. She said she could not guarantee the approval of even a small additional care package on the current rationale.
13. Mr X has also complained that he cannot always contact a social worker when he wants to. The Council and his advocate have explained to him that it would not be usual for a social worker always to be available to have a chat with him on a weekly basis. The Council’s records show Mr X rings to speak to a social worker frequently. He also calls a mental health service users group most nights to talk.
14. The Council has not yet completed the most recent review as it was awaiting the feedback from Mr X’s advocate.

Analysis

15. There is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has assessed Mr X’s needs and so it is not our role to criticise the Council for its decision about Mr X’s needs.

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Decision

16. I have completed this investigation as I find no fault on the part of the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman