Summary: The Council has not been at fault in its assessment of Ms X’s eligible needs and the support offered to meet them.

The complaint

1. Ms X (the complainant) complains that the Council will not provide her with the support she wants to assist her, which is a live-in carer. She has refused all other options offered.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered 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.

What happened

8. Ms X lives alone in a bungalow: she has restricted mobility and uses a wheeled walker at home. She has had close personal bereavements over the last few years.
9. At her care needs assessment in 2024, Ms X said she was frightened in case anything broke in her home or anything happened to her personally. She said she only wanted a live-in carer or a ‘homeless person’ to live with her for support.
10. The social worker who completed the assessment noted that Ms X had eligible needs in terms of preparing food, and living safely, but Ms X declined offers of a Personal Assistant to assist with food preparation or telecare (a pendant or keysafe) to enable her to feel more secure in her home.
11. Ms X wrote to the Council in January 2025 complaining that she had not been offered sufficient support.
12. The Council responded in February. A Team Manager wrote to Ms X and said she would be allocated a new social worker who would be able to take a fresh view of her situation. However, she pointed out that Ms X had previously been offered 4 care calls a day, shared lives befriending service to access the community, a direct payment to hire a personal assistant, help with dog-walking, hospital transport, telecare and Occupational Therapy aids, all of which she had refused.
13. Ms X was put on the waiting list according to her priority and was assessed again in August. The Council says her needs had not changed since the previous assessment. Ms X expressed again her wish for a live-in carer and said she had advertised for a homeless person to live with her. She said she did not think she should contribute financially towards her care. Ms X was advised again of the potential risks of advertising for someone to live with her in her circumstances.
14. Ms X complained to us about the lack of support and said she had never turned down offers of help as the Council said.
15. The Council’s records are clear that the available options for support were discussed with Ms X and refused by her. The notes from the 2024 assessment state: “at the end of assessment she asked if I could offer her live in carer and when I told her that she would benefit from a lifeline, keysafe and a private assistant she said "Go" and showed me the way to the door”. The outcome was recorded as “Careline, keysafe and direct payments to employ PA was offered and declined. Her friend was asked to speak to her and encourage her to accept at least a careline and keysafe so that she could have support when she falls, again she declined. (Ms X) has capacity around her care and support needs.”

Analysis

16. I am satisfied the Council has assessed Ms X’s needs appropriately and offered her support to meet her eligible needs, in a number of different forms.
17. It is Ms X’s prerogative to refuse the support offered if she continues to state she only wants live-in support, but that is not available to her as support funded by the Council.

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Decision

18. I have completed this investigation as I find no fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman