Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision not to fund a residential placement for her child and said the Council’s complaint response did not address all the issues she raised. We have ended our investigation. This is because the Council has already reassessed Mr Y’s needs, reviewed its earlier decision, and put in place additional care and support. There is nothing further an investigation by the Ombudsman could achieve at this stage. As we are not investigating the substantive matters, it would not be a proportionate use of public resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision not to fund a residential placement for her child, Mr Y. She also said the Council’s complaint response did not address all the issues she had raised.
2. Mrs X says the decision means her child’s care needs are not met, places them at a disadvantage, and does not support their development towards independence.
3. She wants the Council to provide a full response to her complaint, review its decision, and agree to fund the residential placement.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

5. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
6. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
7. 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

8. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Assessment

10. 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.

Care Plan

11. 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

12. In March 2025, the Council agreed a day placement for Mr Y. Mrs X asked the Council to agree funding for this to be a residential placement.
13. In April, the Council decided it would not support a residential placement. It then completed and issued Mr Y’s updated assessment and care and support plan.
14. Mrs X submitted a formal complaint. She said the alternative options offered were inadequate, not person-centred, did not promote Mr Y’s independence, and disadvantaged him. She asked the Council to review its decision and agree to fund residential provision.
15. In June, the Council issued its complaint response. It acknowledged inconsistencies in its decision-making and communication and agreed to review Mr Y’s assessment and explore further support options. It also said it would use learning from the complaint to strengthen its practice guidance.
16. Following this, Mrs X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.
17. In July, the Council completed the reassessment and issued a revised care and support plan. This included additional support to help Mr Y access activities, develop skills and independence, and increased respite to support his wellbeing.

My findings

18. After Mrs X complained, the Council acknowledged shortcomings in its decision-making process and completed a fresh assessment of Mr Y’s needs. It has now reviewed its previous decision and increased the care and support available to him. This resolves the substantive issue raised in the complaint.
19. As the Council has already taken the actions Mrs X sought, namely, reviewing its decision and reconsidering Mr Y’s support, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
20. Mrs X also complained the Council did not address all aspects of her complaint. However, where we are not investigating the substantive issues, it is not a good use of public resources to pursue matters of complaint handling alone. I am therefore satisfied it is not proportionate to investigate this further.
21. For these reasons, I have ended my investigation.

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Decision

22. I have ended my investigation into this complaint. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman