Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to provide care and support and kept changing his social worker. He says this distressed him and stopped him moving home. The Council was at fault. It failed to review Mr X’s care and support plan and did not properly respond to complaints. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council failed to provide care and support to him and kept changing his social worker. He says this distressed him and stopped him moving home.

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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)
4. 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)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have not investigated matters prior to July 2024, more than 12 months before Mr X complained to us. I reference matters before this date for context. I have not investigated earlier events as Mr X could have complained about them earlier. This is a late complaint and there is not enough reason to accept those parts of it for investigation now.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke to Mr X’s representative, Mr Y, on the phone.
7. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making my final decision.

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What I found

Background information

9. 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.
10. The Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014 set the minimum threshold at which needs must be met by a council. 
11. An adult’s needs are eligible when they arise from physical or mental impairment or illness; the adult cannot achieve two or more specified outcomes because of those needs; and there is likely to be a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing. 
12. The specified outcomes include: 
• Managing and maintaining nutrition
• Maintaining personal hygiene. 
• Managing toilet needs. 
• Being appropriately clothed. 
• Being able to make use of the home safely. 
• Maintaining a habitable home environment. 
• Developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships. 
• Accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering.  
• Making use of necessary facilities or services in the local community, including public transport, and recreational facilities or services. 
• Carrying out any caring responsibilities the adult has for a child
13. Once a council has determined eligibility, it must provide the person assessed with a copy of their decision. Where a council finds a person has no eligible needs, it must provide information and advice about what can be done to meet or reduce their needs. 
14. 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.
15. 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 council should share an indicative amount with the person, and anybody else involved, at the start of care and support planning. It should confirm the final amount of the personal budget through this process. 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.
16. There are three main ways a personal budget can be administered:

• as a managed account held by the council with support provided in line with the person’s wishes;
• as a managed account held by a third party (often called an individual service fund or ISF) with support provided in line with the person’s wishes; or
• as a direct payment.
  (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)

17. 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. The council must ensure people have relevant and timely information about direct payments so they can decide whether to request them. If they do so, the council should support them to use and manage the payment properly.
18. The Council’s Adult Social Care complaints procedure says the Council will provide a full written reply within 20 working days.

What happened

19. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that occurred in this case.
20. Mr X had a stroke at the beginning of 2022. This affected his movement. He lives alone.
21. Mr X went into hospital in early 2024.
22. Mr X had been paying for a personal assistant from his direct payments. In February 2024 this service ended because he had not been paying the service provider.
23. In March 2024, the hospital arranged a short term care package for Mr X when he returned home. The hospital also referred Mr X to a local support agency to provide a food parcel and support with shopping.
24. Later in March 2024, the Council completed a care and support assessment and plan for Mr X. The plan said he could manage his personal care needs, but needed 24 hours care per week to support him with activities including cleaning, clothes washing, food shopping and health appointments. The Council also referred him to a financial appointee to help manage his finances.
25. At the end of April 2024 the Council visited Mr X at home following his hospital discharge. He said he did not need long term carer support. He said he had friends who supported him with tasks such as food shopping and collecting medication. He also said he would consider moving to a supported living scheme and he would prefer not to share facilities.
26. The Council agreed it would contact Mr X again in May 2024 to see how he was and make a referral to the local support agency the Hospital had previously contacted.
27. In May 2024 the Council contacted Mr X. He said he was fine and coping independently. The Council agreed to end the short term care package provided for him after discharge from hospital. The Council also started looking to help him move to sheltered housing accommodation.
28. In June 2024, Mr X’s friend told the Council Mr X was not looking after himself properly. The Council visited him and said it was applying for a supported living placement.
29. In July 2024, Mr Y complained to the Council. Mr Y complained Mr X was getting no support with tasks including washing clothes, shopping and attending appointments.
30. Later in July 2024, the Council put a financial appointee in place for Mr X.
31. In late August 2024, the Council responded to Mr Y’s complaint. The Council said Mr X had declined support with personal care which was a priority need for support. It said help with tasks like shopping and cleaning were not prioritised as a standalone package when the client could manage these through other means. It also said it had approved Mr X’s supported living placement budget and the local support agency would continue supporting him until he moved.
32. At the end of August 2024, the local support agency told the Council it was not a care agency. It said it was a befriending service which provided limited support with tasks such as shopping for a six week period. It said its relationship with Mr X had become difficult.
33. Also at the end of August 2024, a housing association offered Mr X a self-contained flat in sheltered accommodation.
34. In early September 2024, Mr X told the Council he did not want to move into supported living accommodation with shared facilities. He requested a care package in his own home.
35. Mr Y was not satisfied with the Council’s response to his complaint and asked it to escalate his concerns in early September 2024. He said Mr X wanted a care package until he moved to other accommodation and the local support agency could not help him with day-to-day living tasks.
36. A week later, the housing association withdrew its offer of accommodation. It said Mr X’s support needs were greater than could be met in the scheme. It recommended supported living or extra-care accommodation would be more suitable for him.
37. Later in September 2024, the Council visited Mr X who said he now had a friend helping him. He said he wanted to stay in his current home and only needed help with cleaning, clothes washing and cooking. He also asked to take control of his finances again and for direct payments to arrange and fund his own care. The Council said it could only justify payment for 30 minute calls.
38. At the start of October 2024, the Council issued a stage 2 response to Mr Y’s complaint. It did not uphold the complaint about the lack of a care package. It said the local support agency was able to support Mr X with tasks like shopping and cleaning but he had refused this support. It also said he had refused to consider a move to a supported living scheme. The Council accepted some communication had been poor.
39. On the same day, Mr Y contacted the Council querying the response to his escalated complaint.
40. In mid-October 2024, the Council reallocated Mr X’s case to a new social worker. Later that month, his case was reallocated again to another social worker.
41. In January 2025, the Council responded to Mr Y’s comments on the Council’s stage 2 complaint response. The Council said it had investigated the complaint and directed Mr Y to the Ombudsman.
42. In February 2025 the Council carried out a mental capacity assessment of Mr X. The assessment confirmed Mr X had capacity to make financial decisions.
43. In April 2025 Mr X’s social worker told Mr Y the Council was re-allocating Mr X’s case to a new social worker. Two days later, Mr Y told the Council Mr X was unsupported after his privately employed carer had left him, Mr Y asked for an urgent package of care for Mr X.
44. At the end of April 2025 the Council visited Mr X and Mr Y. The Council decided it needed to carry out a care needs assessment of Mr X.
45. In May 2025 Mr Y wrote to the Council detailing concerns about how it was managing Mr X’s care and support. A week later the Council apologised for the delay and said it was prioritising the case. The Council spoke to Mr X who said he was okay but needed care.
46. At the end of May 2025 the Council told Mr Y his concerns were being considered under the Council’s complaints process.
47. In early June 2025 the Council re-allocated Mr X’s case to a new social worker who called Mr Y. Mr Y said Mr X had been in hospital and now returned home. The social worker agreed to visit Mr X.
48. At the beginning of July 2025, Mr Y told the Council Mr X still had no care and had not been given control of his finances.
49. A week later, Mr X’s new social worker stepped down from his case. The social worker cancelled a planned visit to see Mr X. Mr Y immediately complained to the Council saying it had failed to provide a social worker and left Mr X without care and support.
50. Mr Y complained to the Ombudsman in mid-July 2025. He wanted the Council to apologise to Mr X and provide a care and support package and an allocated social worker for him.
51. A week later, the Council allocated a new social worker to Mr X and responded to Mr Y’s complaint offering a meeting with a senior officer. The new social worker contacted Mr X in hospital to assess his needs and told the hospital to ensure Mr X was discharged with a suitable package of care.
52. In September 2025, the Council replied to Mr Y’s complaint made in July 2025. It apologised for the changes in social worker and said Mr X had declined personal care support and requested help with household cleaning. It said he was now getting visits from his social worker.
53. In October 2025 the Council completed a care and support review and support plan for Mr X.
54. In November 2025 the Council commissioned and commenced a home care package for Mr X.
55. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it had regularly reviewed Mr X’s situation and arranged formal care and support as his needs changed. It also said tasks such as cleaning and shopping are not automatically eligible needs under the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015 and normally only funded as part of a broader package of personal care.

My findings

Care and support provision

56. I have not investigated the Council’s care and support provision for Mr X prior to July 2024 for reasons explained in paragraph 5.
57. Paragraph 9 says the Council has a duty to assess any adult who appears to need care and support. Paragraphs 10 to 12 says the Council must meet needs above the minimal threshold.
58. I have identified three occasions since July 2024 when Mr X or Mr Y told the Council he needed care and support.
59. In July 2024, Mr Y told the Council Mr X needed support. The Council had issued Mr X’s care and support plan two months earlier and he had declined a care package. Mr X was entitled to decline a care package and the Council was satisfied he had capacity to decide. The Council could not require Mr X to accept a care package if he did not want to. The Council was not at fault.
60. In September 2024, Mr X told the Council he wanted a care package to help him with cleaning, washing and cooking. The Council said he had refused help from a local support agency. However, the local support agency had already told the Council that it was not a care agency and it could only provide limited support for a six week period. The Council should have reviewed Mr X’s care and support plan and assessed if it should put care and support in place. It did not do so. This is fault and meant Mr X had the uncertainty of relying on his friend to provide support
61. In April 2025, Mr Y told the Council Mr X needed help after his privately employed carer had left. The Council should have reviewed Mr X’s care and support plan and assessed if it should put care and support in place or signpost Mr X to other support options. It did not do so. This is fault. This distressed Mr X and caused him uncertainty over whether the Council would provide support and how he would get any help in the meantime.
62. I recognise the Council faced challenges with Mr X changing his position on whether he wanted the Council to provide care. However, Mr X was distressed by the Council’s failure to review his care and support plan when he requested help and the uncertainty over whether he lost out on care.

Council complaint response

63. Paragraphs 10 to 12 says the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014 say an adult’s needs are eligible if the adult cannot achieve two of more of the specified listed outcomes.
64. The Council’s complaint response in August 2024 said domestic tasks were not eligible needs and would usually only be funded as part of a broader care package and not as a standalone package. The Council’s response to my enquiries repeated this position.
65. The Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014 does not distinguish between personal care needs and non-personal care needs. An adult may need support with domestic tasks in order to achieve the listed outcomes. All outcomes are ranked equally. The Council was wrong saying domestic tasks were not eligible needs when responding to Mr Y’s complaint. This is fault that caused uncertainty for Mr X and his representative about what care and support he may have been entitled to.

Council complaint response timescales

66. Paragraph 18 says the Council will provide a full written reply to adult social care complaints within 20 working days.
67. In July 2024 Mr Y submitted his first complaint. The Council replied 48 working days later in August 2024. This is 28 working days late. This is fault.
68. In May 2025 Mr Y raised concerns about how the Council was managing Mr X’s care and support. The Council accepted it as a complaint and responded 79 working days later in July 2025. This is 59 working days late. This is fault.
69. In July 2025 Mr Y made a further complaint. The Council replied 55 working days later. This is 35 working days late. This is fault.
70. The repeated delays in complaint responses frustrated Mr X and Mr Y.

Loss of housing offer

71. A housing association offered Mr X a sheltered housing flat and then withdrew the offer saying his support needs could not be met in the accommodation. The association said sheltered accommodation generally would not be suitable for Mr X. There is no evidence the offer was withdrawn because the Council was not providing a care package. The Council was not at fault.

Number of social workers

72. From July 2024 to July 2025 Mr X had five different social workers. I recognise this caused uncertainty for Mr X. However, the Council has to manage changes in staffing and service structures. The changes in Mr X’s social workers did not cause a negative impact on the service Mr X received from the Council. The Council was not at fault and has apologised to Mr X for the unavoidable turnover of social workers.

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Actions

73. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mr X by the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:

• Apologise to Mr X Mr Y for failing to review Mr X’s care and support plan when he requested help, delays in its complaint handling and providing incorrect information in its complaint response. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.

• Pay Mr X £100 to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused by failing to review his care and support plan.

74. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

75. I have now completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman