Summary: The Council was not at fault for deciding not to carry out a new assessment of Mr X’s care and support needs. It was entitled to decide Mr X’s needs had not changed since its last assessment and refer him to the NHS for further support.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to provide him with support to meet his needs and failed to properly assess his needs. Mr X said his needs were not being met and this impacted on his mental health.

Back to top

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(1), as amended)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

4. We previously investigated a complaint from Mr X about the same issue up to September 2023. 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). Mr X complained to us in March 2025. He said the Council had continued to fail to assess him since our previous investigation. I have investigated events from March 2024 to December 2025. It was open to Mr X to complain to us sooner about events between September 2023 and March 2024 and I consider it reasonable for him to have done so.
5. Some of Mr X’s complaint involves the actions of the NHS. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as the NHS. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended). I have not investigated the parts of Mr X’s complaint that are about the actions of the NHS.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

What I found

Relevant Law and Guidance

Assessing needs

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 all people regardless of their finances or whether the local authority thinks an individual 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. To have needs which are eligible for support, the following must apply:
1. The needs must arise from or be related to a physical or mental impairment or illness.
2. Because of the needs, the adult must be unable to achieve two or more of the following outcomes:
1. Managing and maintaining nutrition;
2. Maintaining personal hygiene;
3. Managing toilet needs;
4. Being appropriately clothed;
5. Being able to make use of the adult’s home safely;
6. Maintaining a habitable home environment;
7. Developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships;
8. Accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering;
9. Making use of necessary facilities or services in the local community including public transport, and recreational facilities or services; and
10. Carrying out any caring responsibilities the adult has for a child.
3. Where an adult cannot achieve these outcomes, there is likely to be a significant impact on the adult’s well-being.
10. Where councils have determined that a person has eligible needs, they must meet these needs. When a council has decided a person is or is not eligible for support it must provide the person assessed with a copy of its decision.

Background

11. The Council finalised a care assessment of Mr X in August 2023. It concluded Mr X did not have eligible care needs under the Care Act 2014. The Council assessed that Mr X was not struggling to meet two or more Care Act outcomes but had emerging needs as he struggled to develop and maintain personal relationships. His ability to access the community was also limited but Mr X did not have unmet needs in that area as he did not want to access the community at that stage. They noted Mr X would benefit from mental health support as this appeared to be his primary need. The Council provided Mr X with a copy of its decision, and the records show Mr X agreed to a referral to the Mental Health Team.

What happened

12. The following is a summary of what happened between March 2024 and December 2025. It does not include all contacts between Mr X and the Council.
13. In March 2024 the ambulance service made a safeguarding referral to the Council about Mr X. It said Mr X needed support with an issue with his neighbour. The ambulance service noted Mr X had previously declined care and there was no indication he needed practical care and support.
14. The Council accepted the referral. It spoke to Mr X and referred him to his doctor for further support. It said Mr X had no identified care and support needs. In May 2024 Mr X told the Council he was unhappy it would not assess his care needs. The Council said Mr X had no eligible care needs and it had no reason to believe that had changed based on Mr X’s new request.
15. In June 2024 a multi-disciplinary team discussed Mr X’s case. It agreed a further referral to the NHS Mental Health Team. The Council spoke to Mr X on the telephone to explain the referral. It said it appeared his care needs were as a result of mental health needs. The NHS accepted the referral.
16. In October 2024 the community psychiatrist nurse visited Mr X at home and made a referral for a social worker from the Council to contact Mr X. The social worker did so and explained to Mr X that his case was currently open to a Mental Health Team who could support him. They said there was no role for the Council’s social care team in Mr X’s care while he was receiving support from the Mental Health Team.
17. Throughout 2025 the NHS Mental Health Team had several involvements with Mr X attempting to provide him with support. Mr X had repeated contacts with several departments in the Council throughout 2025. None related to his request for a care assessment.

My findings

18. The Council is under a duty to assess any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. The Council finalised a care assessment of Mr X in August 2023 and decided he had no eligible care needs. When Mr X contacted the Council again in 2024 it reviewed the information and decided his circumstances had not changed. Following a multi-disciplinary meeting it decided Mr X could be best supported by the Mental Health Team.
19. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes the Council followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether a person disagrees with the decision the Council made.
20. In making its decision, the Council took account of the relevant guidance, information from Mr X and other professionals. The Council followed the appropriate procedures when making this decision and I cannot therefore criticise it. The Council was not at fault.

Back to top

Decision

21. I find no fault.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman