Summary: There was fault by the Council because it failed to consider Mrs X’s request for more expensive respite provision for fewer hours. This was not in the spirit of paragraph 4.46 of Care and Support Statutory Guidance and was fault causing avoidable distress and a loss of opportunity for Mrs X to have a break from her caring role. The Council will apologise and roll over any unused respite direct payment funding from 2025 into the current year.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained her son Mr Y has not had respite care or three hours of care and support at the weekends since May 2025. She said this has caused avoidable distress.

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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 any comments before making a final decision. .

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

6. Replacement care (respite care) may be needed to enable a carer to look after their own health and wellbeing and to take a break. It should be considered a service provided to the cared-for person. (Care and support Statutory Guidance (CSSG) paragraph 11.39)
7. If a council decides a person is eligible for care, it should prepare a care and support plan which specifies the needs the council is going to meet and how this will be done. (Care Act 2014, sections 24 and 25)
8. The care and support plan must set out a personal budget. A personal budget is a statement which specifies the cost to the local authority of meeting eligible needs, the amount a person must contribute and the amount the council must contribute. (Care Act 2014, section 26)
9. A personal budget can be taken as a direct payment (DP). A DP is a cash payment to be used to purchase care and support to meet needs.
10. Guidance says councils should encourage the personalisation of care and support services to enable people to make meaningful choices and to take control of their support arrangements. (CSSG, paragraph 4.46)

What happened

11. Mr Y lives with Mrs X, his relative, who is also his main carer. Mr Y receives care and support from the Council including a DP for respite care, a personal assistant for three hours a week and day opportunities.
12. The Council’s complaint response of July 2025 said:
• Its current assessment was that Mr Y needed respite care to support her in her caring role. It acknowledged that she had previously chosen an alternative respite provision
• If she wanted to use a more expensive respite provider then she could, but she would need to pay the difference
• It would like to meet her to revisit the current respite arrangements
13. The Council told us the following:
• There were three commissioned residential respite homes that met Mr Y’s needs, including one home which supports adults with learning disabilities (this home is not a home for older adults)
• It offered Mr Y a personal budget based on the cost of a residential care home and this meant Mr Y could have respite care and continue to use his direct payment to access it
• The Council has continued to make available three hours a week of direct payment funding for personal assistant support
• It had recently reviewed Mr Y’s care and support, completed a new assessment and updated his care and support plan. Mr Y will continue to have a DP for respite care and this can be used flexibly
• It has been agreed by management in February 2026 that families can use a more expensive respite provider to fund fewer nights than they have been assessed as needing.

Findings

Respite

14. Care and Support Statutory Guidance (CSSG) makes it clear that councils should encourage flexible use of direct payments. When responding to Mrs X’s request to use an alternative more expensive provider and to her complaint about the matter, the Council said this was possible, but she would need to pay the difference. The Council’s approach in its complaint response of July 2025 was inflexible, was not in the spirit of paragraph 4.46 of CSSG and was fault causing avoidable distress.
15. The Council should have considered the individual circumstances of the case at the time of Mrs X’s request. It has now done so in February 2026 and has decided that fewer nights at a more expensive provision is an option for the family. This is a partial remedy for the injustice (missed respite provision), however Mrs X missed out on provision in 2025. This caused avoidable distress and a loss of opportunity to have a break from her caring role because she could not afford the additional cost the Council told her she would need to pay.

Three hours of personal assistant support

16. The Council has confirmed Mr Y’s DP for three hours a week of personal assistant support remains in place and has not stopped. There is no evidence of any fault by the Council in this part of Mrs X’s complaint.

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Agreed Action

17. To remedy the injustice caused by fault that I have identified in paragraphs 14 and 15, within one month of my final decision, the Council will:
• Apologise to Mrs X. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Roll over the unused respite DP for last year so that Mrs X can make use of 2025 unused budget as well as the current yearly budget for respite. The Council should confirm this in writing to Mrs X
18. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

19. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman