Summary: There was a significant period of time when M lacked the support he was assessed as needing. There was also a lack of communication with the family and an unhelpful complaint response. The Council will now review the way it provides support to M, ensure that changes are progressed in a timely way and offer a payment to recognise the frustration and lack of support.

The complaint

1. Mrs X (the complainant) says the Council failed to ensure the assessed support was in place for her son M and failed to communicate properly with the family or address her complaints. She says this has caused a lot of anxiety and additional stress for herself and her son.

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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 Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mrs X 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. 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. Reviews
7. Section 27 of the Care Act 2014 says councils should keep care and support plans under review. Government Care and Support Statutory Guidance says councils should review plans at least every 12 months. They should carry out reviews as quickly as is reasonably practicable in a timely manner proportionate to the needs to be met. Councils must also conduct a review if an adult or a person acting on the adult’s behalf makes a reasonable request for one.
8. Direct payments are monetary payments made to individuals who ask for them to meet some or all of their eligible care and support needs. They enable people to arrange their own care and support to meet those needs.

What happened

9. Mrs X’s son M is a 25-year-old man with autism and ADHD who was attending college part-time and previously had an Education Heath Care Plan. He lives at home with Mrs X.
10. Focus Independent (adult social work) provides the social work function for the Council.
11. From March 2023 to June 2024, an agency provided M with support for 6 hours a week. This was to enable him to access the community independently of his family and meet other people his own age. In June 2024 the provision ceased as the agency said it was “difficult to work with” Mrs X. No other support was put in place. M’s Care Act assessment from that time notes that “(Mrs X and M) both expressed that he wishes to continue with a PA providing the 6 hours support per week, to enable him to access the community independent of family.”
12. Mrs X complained to the Council in August 2024. She asked it to explain the role of Focus, why M did not have a permanent ‘active’ social worker, and whose responsibility it was to update and oversee support plans. Mrs X says the Council “rewrote” her complaint and she was uncomfortable with the outcome.
13. The Council’s records show that a social worker visited Mrs X and M in November 2024 to discuss his support. The social worker recorded “(M) would like to be able to go out with support but has not had any 1:1 access since (the agency) stopped their support in May this year. I explained that (previous keyworker) made a referral …. for this support in September 2024 but that there has been no update from this.” Mrs X said ideally M would like support from an agency used previously.
14. The social worker contacted the preferred agency but it was not until January 2025 that the referral was made formally as the social worker also required supporting documents from M to enable the Direct Payments to be made. The agency explained to the social worker that it would probably be mid-March by the time there were enough staff to support M.
15. In February 2025 a worker from the new agency met Mrs X and M. He confirmed they would start to support M from 17 February.
16. In February Focus responded to Mrs X’s complaint from August 2024. It said social workers were involved while there was a piece of work to be completed and they had an active role. It said “Support plans are reviewed by providers of care who will adapt their own plans from the social worker’s original plan. If a new plan is requested a social worker will review the existing plan and produce a new plan that reflects any changes”. Mrs X points out that the amendments she had requested to be made to the support pans did not take place and she was sent the same unaltered plans which had been issued the previous year.
17. Mrs X complained to Focus about the delay in organising support for M, missed reviews and changing social workers. She said this meant explaining everything to a new social worker every time.
18. In April a different social worker contacted Mrs X about arranging the annual review. There was a delay of a couple of weeks before Mrs X responded with dates and additional queries: she then emailed the social worker again on 21 May as she had not had a response. The meeting was arranged for 11 June.
19. At the meeting it was agreed to continue M’s 6 hours a week support and provide a one-off carer’s Direct Payment to Mrs X
20. Following the review meeting Mrs X contacted the social worker again as the EHCP was about to cease and she was unclear what other support Focus would provide for M. She said they had been through mediation as she challenged the view that the EHCP should cease but she said it was likely they would have to seek a tribunal.
21. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman. She said there were delays in communication and service provision, long periods when she believed referrals had been made to other services but they had not, lack of continuity of social work, and also support plans which were not updated properly.
22. The Council says “Focus have confirmed that discussions were held on 24 June 2024 with (Mrs X) regarding using direct payments for ongoing PA support. In July 2024 discussions were also held in regard to a day service but this was declined. (Mrs X) informed (the social worker) it was too early to consider another provider and therefore no support was in place”. Mrs X says this was not true. She knew there were few agencies providing support and she would not and did not decline support at that time.
23. Mrs X also now says that there was a delay between the last assessment in June 2025 and receipt of the support plan in December. She says none of the amendments she had requested had been added and the plan she received was the same as the plan issued in November 2023.

Analysis

24. The 6 hours support M was assessed as needing was not in place between June 2024 and February 2025. The Council says this was because support was declined by Mrs X but there is no evidence of that on the record, and Mrs X denies that was so. The Council says the previous worker had made a referral to another service in September 2024 but that was neither communicated to Mrs X, nor pursued by the social worker. Therefore, M was without the support he needed for 8 months. That was fault which caused injustice in terms not only of a lack of service for M, but also stress and anxiety for Mrs X.
25. Focus explained the aim of active social work to Mrs X but there appears to have been a failure to provide support at a time when M’s EHCP was terminated and the family required additional input and advice.
26. The response from Focus to Mrs X’s complaint was both delayed by some months and unclear in terms of its explanation of responsibilities. Mrs X says she was uncomfortable with the way her complaint was rewritten. She was also concerned that the response emanated from the organisation she had complained about when her complaint had been directed to the Council. In my view the response was both unhelpful to Mrs X and lacked independence.

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Action

27. Within one month of my final decision the Council agrees to apologise to Mrs X and M for its failure to ensure provision of the support he was assessed as needing between June 2024 and February 25.
28. Within one month of my final decision the Council will offer the sum of £800 to M to recognise the loss of service.
29. The Council will also, within one month of my final decision, offer £500 to Mrs X to recognise the stress and anxiety she was caused by the lack of provision to M and the poor communication with her.
30. The Council will, within three months of my final decision, review the way in which Focus responds to complaints on its behalf and consider how it can provide an independent overview. It should provide details of that review to us.
31. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

32. I find fault causing injustice which the recommendations at paragraphs 27 – 30 will remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman