Summary: Ms X complained about the way the Council dealt with the care and support of her son, Y, and her as a carer. The Council was at fault for delaying in completing a carers assessment and poorly responding to Ms X’s complaint. The Council should apologise and make a payment to Ms X to remedy the frustration and uncertainty caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains on behalf of her son, Mr Y as well as complaining in her own right. She complains the Council:
1. failed to provide day care for Mr Y since April 2025;
2. failed to provide weekend support to Mr Y;
3. failed to provide support to her as a carer;
4. poorly communicated about the matter;
5. poorly responded to complaints.
2. Ms X says this has caused significant distress. Mr Y has missed out on day care provision and she has been unsupported as a carer.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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(i), as amended)
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

What I found

Legislation and guidance

Assessment

8. 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. Under the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (CSSG) councils should provide people with copies of their assessment and care and support plans.

Eligible needs

9. The Care Act spells out the duty to meet eligible needs (needs which meet the eligibility criteria). (Care Act 2014, section 18)

Care Plan

10. The Care Act 2014 gives councils a legal responsibility to provide a care and support plan. 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.

Carer’s Assessment

11. Where somebody provides care for another adult and it appears the carer may have any needs for support, the council must carry out a carer’s assessment. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)

Direct payments

12. Direct payments are 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.

Safeguarding

13. A council must make enquiries if it thinks a person may be at risk of abuse or neglect and has care and support needs which mean the person cannot protect themselves. (section 42, Care Act 2014). The council where the abuse/event occurred has the responsibility of carrying out duties.

Carer’s Assessment

14. Where somebody provides or intends to provide care for another adult and it appears the carer may have any needs for support, the council must carry out a carer’s assessment. A carer’s assessment must seek to find out not only the carer’s needs for support, but also the sustainability of the caring role itself. This includes the practical and emotional support the carer provides to the adult.
15. As part of the carer’s assessment, the council must consider the carer’s potential future needs for support. It must also consider whether the carer is, and will continue to be, able and willing to care for the adult needing care. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)
16. A carers assessment should be reviewed at least annually, thought this may need to have sooner if circumstances change.

Carer’s Budgets and Respite

17. The Care Act 2014 says the council may meet the carer’s needs by providing a service directly to the adult needing care. The carer must still receive a support plan which covers their needs, and how the council will meet them. The carer’s personal budget must be an amount that enables the carer to meet their needs to continue to fulfil their caring role. It must also consider what the carer wishes to achieve in their day-to-day life. Part of the planning process should be to agree how the carer will use the personal budget to meet their needs. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)

What happened?

18. Mr Y is an adult with significant care and support needs. He lives with his mother, Ms Y who provides care and support to him.
19. The Council completed a carers assessment with Ms Y in October 2024. This noted that Mr Y’s current package of support, which included support for him on a weekend to give Ms X respite. During the assessment, Ms X expressed she needed the Council to provide funding for further respite.
20. The Council completed a review of Mr Y’s care and support plan in November 2024. Mr Y’s care and support plan noted he had eligible needs which could be met by him attending a day centre six days a week and on alternate Sundays.
21. At the end of January 2025, Ms X complained to the Council about several matters, including that it had delayed in sharing the outcome of her carers assessment which took place in October 2024.
22. In March, the Council responded to her complaint, accepting it delayed in telling Ms X the outcome of her carers assessment. It apologised for this.
23. In mid-April, Mr Y’s day centre made allegations about Ms X’s care of Mr Y. In response, the Council started a safeguarding investigation. Following this allegation, Ms X decided that Mr Y would no longer attend the day centre and he stopped attending with immediate effect. She gave the Council details of alternative provisions she wanted Mr Y to attend.
24. Two days after this, the Council contacted Ms X asking to visit her. Ms X responded to say she was unable to meet because she was busy.
25. The Council visited Ms X a week later to discuss the safeguarding allegations. Ms X noted that Mr Y would not be returning to the day centre. She also raised concerns that the day centre had failed to provide adequate care and support to Mr Y.
26. At the start of May, Ms X contacted the Council expressing she urgently needed Mr Y to attend a new day service. The Council retuned Ms X’s call the same day. It then contacted a new day centre with a view to Mr Y attending.
27. Shortly after this, the Council noted it would need to complete a reassessment of Mr Y’s needs to enable it to find a new provider.
28. Internal Council records from this time noted that the Council made several attempts to locate a suitable day centre for Mr Y.
29. Between May and July, Ms X contacted the Council several times asking it to provide immediate permanent care and support for Mr Y. The Council responded to most of these communications from Ms X quickly.
30. In mid-May, the Council contacted Ms X asking if it could visit her. Ms X responded a few days later agreeing to a visit.
31. The Council visited Ms X and Mr Y with an advocate in mid-May to complete a care act reassessment. Following the visit, the Council noted it would check if Ms Y was eligible for a carers assessment. It also explained it would try to find a suitable day centre for Mr Y a arrange a direct payment which could be used for Mr Y’s weekend support.
32. Council records from this time noted that since Mr Y stopped attending his day centre in mid-April 2025, the Council had been providing an interim care at home package of 12 hours per day.
33. Ms X made a complaint to the Council in mid-May raising the same issues as this complaint.
34. The Council contacted Ms X shortly after to arrange a reassessment of Mr Y’s needs.
35. The same day, Ms X emailed the Council asking for extra funding to support Mr Y. The Council responded to Ms X’s email the following day noting the request would be discussed by management.
36. At the end of May, the Council agreed interim care and support arrangements for Mr Y. it agreed funding for direct payment for seven hours a day, seven days a week as an interim arrangement. This started in early June and ended in early July.
37. In response, Ms X expressed she was unhappy because Mr Y was still at home with no access to meaningful activities and this was causing a deterioration in Mr Y’s wellbeing. The Council telephoned Ms X the same day to discuss her concerns.
38. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint at the end of June. It did not uphold any of her complaints. Specifically, it said:

• Following Ms X’s decision to remove Mr Y from the day centre, his existing personal assistance in the mornings and evenings continued without interruption. The Council could not implement alternative day care immediately because a reassessment of his needs was needed.
• In the interim, the Council followed the process to secure temporary funding for interim provision, which was a 12 hour daily sitting service until a new day provision could be found, which started in early June.
• a new provider had been identified as a possible option and this would be presented at a panel for funding authorisation.
• the Council had been in regular contact with Ms X throughout the time period.

39. In early July, the Council agreed a new weekday day centre provision for Mr Y and told Ms X she could use the direct payment budget to arrange weekend support if she wished to.
40. The Council completed a new carers assessment with Ms X in March 2026.

Findings

Mr X’s care and support

41. When Ms X decided to remove Mr Y from his day centre in April 2025, it provided interim care and support, but it did take the Council several months to find him a new day centre.
42. But, in considering the matter, Mr Y’s day centre and the Council was of the view that the day centre he attended up until April 2025, could meet Mr Y’s eligible needs. If Ms X disagreed with this, Mr Y could have remained with the day centre, while the Council completed a review and decided whether it needed to find a different day centre or change Mr Y’s care package.
43. It was the decision of Ms X for Mr Y not to return to the day centre. Ms X made the decision to remove Mr Y before the Council could make any arrangements for a new provision or attempt to resolve any issues there.
44. The Council had discharged its duty by commissioning the day centre for Mr Y’s care and support and so there is no fault in the actions of the Council. It was the decision of Ms X to end the placement which contributed towards any injustice Mr Y may have suffered from not having another permanent placement for several months.

Ms X’s carer support

45. The Council started a carers assessment with Ms X in October 2024. The Council went on to acknowledge in March 2025 that it had delayed in telling her the outcome of this assessment. The Council has already accepted fault for this and apologised.
46. Despite Mr X’s circumstances changing significantly in April 2025, when Ms X decided to remove him from the day centre, there is no evidence that the Council reviewed Ms X’s carers assessment or support plan until March 2026. This was despite Ms X regularly telling the Council that she was struggling to care for Mr X.
47. Guidance says that a Council should complete a new carers assessment either annually, when circumstances change or when someone asks for a reassessment. Despite Mr Y’s change in circumstances and Ms X continually expressing her difficulty in caring for Mr Y, the Council delayed in completing a reassessment. This was fault, which caused Ms X distress and uncertainty.

Communication

48. Ms X complained that the Council communicated poorly about support for Mr Y when she decided to end his placement at the day centre in April 2025. There is evidence that Ms X contacted the Council regularly between April and July 2025.
49. I have considered the Council’s communication with Ms X and read Mr Y’s daily case notes and there is evidence the Council responded to most of Ms X’s telephone calls and emails within a reasonable timeframe. It also completed home visits to Ms X and Mr Y.
50. I see no evidence of poor communication from the Council and found no fault in this matter.

Complaint handling

51. Ms X complained that the Council poorly responded to her complaints, including failing to act on points it had upheld and dismissing that care and support was outstanding.
52. I have read Ms X’s complaints and the Council’s responses and note that the Council did address all of Ms X’s complaint points.
53. However, the Council upheld in March 2025, that it had delayed in completing Ms X’s carers assessment. Despite this, it did not suggest any actions it would take to follow up on this assessment. This was fault, which caused Ms X further frustration and uncertainty about the support she was entitled to as a carer.

Back to top

Action

54. Within four weeks of our final decision, the Council will:
• apologise to Ms X for the frustration and uncertainty caused to her by its faults. 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 its apology;

• make a payment of £150 to Ms X to remedy the frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council delaying in completing a carers assessment; and
• provide evidence of an updated completed carers assessment and care and support plan dated after March 2026.

55. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

56. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman