Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council dealt with her care and support needs and that it placed her in unsuitable accommodation over a significant period. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Miss X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about how the Council dealt with her care and support needs. In particular, Miss X complained the Council:
1. placed her in unsuitable supported living accommodation with no accessible bathroom, toilet and kitchen
2. did not complete an occupational therapy assessment for her before it placed her in the supported living accommodation in April 2023
3. did not make an advocate referral for her until July 2025
4. did not review her care and support plan
5. has delayed and failed to move her to suitable permanent accommodation.
2. Miss X said as a result, she continued to live in unsuitable accommodation and the matter caused her stress, worry and it affected her physical health.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, 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(1), as amended)
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. 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)
7. I have not exercised discretion to investigate complaint point ‘b’ and matters before July 2024. This is because they are late complaints and there are no good reasons to investigate them now. Miss X was aware of the matter at the time, and I consider she could have complained to the Ombudsman sooner.
8. Miss X made a complaint to the Ombudsman in September 2025, so this investigation should start from September 2024 (12 months before she made her complaint). But I have exercised discretion to investigate matters from when the Council completed a reassessment of Miss X’s care needs in July 2024.
9. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
10. In this case, although Miss X made a complaint to the Ombudsman in September 2025, I have exercised discretion to investigate matters until March 2026. This is because I find it unreasonable to refer Miss X back to the Council to deal with matters between October 2025 and March 2026. In particular about Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide her with suitable accommodation as the matter is ongoing.
11. Therefore, I have investigated matters from July 2024 to March 2026.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

12. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
13. Miss 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

Law and guidance

14. The Care Act 2014 states councils must assess any adult that appears to have needs for care and support. An adult’s needs arise from or are related to 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.
15. Councils must carry out assessments over a suitable and reasonable timescale considering the urgency of needs and any variation in those needs. Once a council has determined a person is eligible, it must set out the person’s needs and how the council will meet those needs in a Care and Support Plan.
16. Plans must be kept under review and councils are expected to review the support plan at least every 12 months. Councils should carry out reviews as quickly as is reasonably practicable in a timely manner proportionate to the needs to be met.
17. Where the care planning process has determined a person’s needs are best met in a care home, the council must provide for the person’s preferred choice of accommodation, subject to certain conditions. This also extends to shared lives, supported living and extra care housing settings.
18. The council must ensure the person has a genuine choice of accommodation and there is more than one of those options.
19. Supported Living Accommodation - combines independent housing (rented or owned) with tailored, flexible support, such as care workers helping with cooking, shopping, or personal care. It is designed for adults with disabilities or health needs, allowing them to live in their own homes rather than residential care, with care hours tailored to their needs.
20. Shared Lives Accommodation – is a care and support service that is a highly flexible form of supported living. Under Shared Lives schemes service users who cannot live independently receive care and support from ordinary family households called Shared Lives carers. Shared Lives carers share their home and family life with an adult who needs care or support to help them live well.
21. Extra Care Housing – provides self-contained homes for people (over a certain age group) needing care and support to live independently.
22. Care Act Advocate – is an independent professional who supports individuals who have eligible social care needs to understand their care options, express their views and challenge decisions if necessary.

Background

23. Miss X became a wheelchair user after she experienced a medical incident and she subsequently became homeless.
24. The Council assessed Miss X and found she had eligible care and support needs. Miss X wished to move into the community with a formal care package and the Council assessed her for supported accommodation.
25. The Council looked at alternative options such as shared lives placement and extra care shelter housing, but it was unable to commission these. For instance, Miss X was not accepted for the extra care shelter due to the provider’s age eligibility criterion. So, the Council and Miss X agreed it would place her in supported living accommodation on a temporary basis until when a shared lives accommodation became available.
26. In April 2023, the Council provided Miss X with supported living accommodation (ground floor) with 24-hour staff presence. Miss X said the placement was agreed to be on a temporary basis of approximately two months.
27. In 2024, Miss X continued to live in the supported living accommodation.
28. Miss X raised concerns to the Council about carers’ conduct, other residents in the supported living accommodation and she asked to be moved to another placement.
29. In April, the Council said an alternative supported living accommodation was offered to Miss X, but that she declined because her support hours had been increased at her current accommodation. Miss X said she refused the offer because the alternative accommodation was not wheelchair accessible.
30. The commissioned provider of Miss X’s supported living accommodation served her with an eviction notice. This was because it said it was unable to continue to provide Miss X with her support needs due to her declined health and increased care needs. Miss X said the notice was served due to issues with rent arrears.

Key events

31. In July 2024, the Council reviewed Miss X’s care needs. Miss X requested to be moved to an alternative placement because her care needs were no longer being met by the supported living accommodation. The Council found Miss X would benefit from a change of supported living accommodation and it asked its brokerage team to source an alternative placement for her.
32. Miss X made a homeless application which was refused.
33. On 12 November, the Council made a referral to occupational therapy (OT) service to assess Miss X for any required equipment and adaptations to support her while she remained in the supported living accommodation.
34. In June 2025, the Council said it received Miss X’s request for an advocate to support her, and it made a referral for an advocate for Miss X in early July.
35. Miss X made a formal complaint to the Council about its failure to move her to suitable permanent accommodation, and she asked for the OT input on her case. Miss X asked the Council to provide her with alternative accommodation with fully accessible bathroom, toilet and kitchen to meet her needs and to support her independence.
36. On 22 July, an OT assessment was completed for Miss X. She said her wheelchair was too narrow and the wheelchair service advised it could not provide her with a wider wheelchair because the width of the current door frames in the property. OT found Miss X’s supported living accommodation was unsuitable to meet her needs and it recommended some equipment/adaptations for Miss X (ramp, specialist highchair and a static pressure cushion). The paperwork stated OT would write a housing report in support of Miss X’s rehousing needs.
37. In its response to Miss X’s complaint, the Council:
1. acknowledged it had agreed and placed Miss X in her supported living accommodation on an interim basis. But the Council explained its brokerage team had sent multiple referrals to different care providers and it had exhausted the list of available placements with no offers made. The Council said this was the reason Miss X continued to live in her supported living accommodation.
2. accepted Miss X’s supported living accommodation was no longer suitable to meet her needs.
3. said it promptly made an advocate referral for Miss X in July after she requested one and the Council confirmed an advocate had now been allocated to Miss X.
4. said an OT assessment was completed for Miss X, and some equipment and adaptations had been recommended to support her needs at her supported living accommodation.
38. OT issued its report in December 2025, and it recommended that Miss X should be rehoused in a suitably adapted, step-free, wheelchair-accessible property including access to essential facilities such as washing, toileting, cooking, and sleeping facilities to meet her current and long-term functional needs.
39. Miss X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s response, and she made a complaint to the Ombudsman. Miss X complained the Council failed to provide her with suitable permanent accommodation.
40. In response to our enquiries, the Council said it had contacted three supported housing care providers, but none was able to offer Miss X a placement.
41. In 2026, Miss X continued to live in the supported living accommodation.

Analysis

42. Councils have a legal duty to provide service users with suitable placement to meet their identified care and support needs.
43. In this case, after the Council reassessed Miss X’s care and support needs in 2024, it did not rehouse Miss X from July 2024 to March 2026. This was a significant delay of approximately 21 months, and it was fault. I find the Council failed to discharge its legal duty to provide Miss X with suitable and accessible accommodation to meet her care and support needs.
44. I note the Council demonstrated it explored and looked for alternative accommodation for Miss X but due to shortage of placements, it could not find a suitable placement for Miss X. While I acknowledge the steps the Council has taken to rehouse Miss X, this is still service failure by the Council, and it is fault. The Council’s delays and failure to provide Miss X with suitable and accessible accommodation has caused significant ongoing injustice to her. This includes distress, inconvenience, uncertainty and Miss X continues to live in unsuitable accommodation.
45. The Council completed a care needs reassessment for Miss X in July 2024, and the review paperwork highlighted the changes in Miss X’s care needs and what support would be required to meet the identified need. This was not fault.
46. However, the Council did not complete a reassessment of Miss X’s care needs in 2025. This was fault. This caused uncertainty to Miss X as to whether the Council properly considered if her care and support needs had changed in 2025.
47. After Miss X requested an advocate in June 2025, I find the Council acted promptly as it made a referral in early July 2025 and an advocate was then allocated to Miss X. This was not fault.
48. The Council made a referral to the OT service on 12 November 2024 to assess Miss X for any required equipment and adaptations to support her while she remained in the supported living accommodation. The OT assessment was not completed until 22 July 2025, and the report was issued in December 2025. This was a significant delay, and it was fault. The Council was aware Miss X was living in unsuitable accommodation; therefore, it should have treated the OT assessment as urgent to see if it could provide the recommendation, including the aids/adaptations sooner to mitigate the effect of Miss X living in unsuitable accommodation. It also caused distress, inconvenience and frustration to Miss X.

Back to top

Action

49. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, the Council has agreed to complete the following within one month of the final decision:

• apologise in writing to Miss X to acknowledge the injustice caused by the Council’s failings as identified above. The apology should be in accordance with our guidance, Making an effective apology
• pay Miss X £250 for each month she lived in unsuitable placement from July 2024 to March 2026. This is a total of £5,250 to cover the 21-month period
• in addition, continue to pay Miss X £250 per month to acknowledge any ongoing injustice caused to her for remaining in unsuitable placement. This monthly payment should be for a maximum of 6 months (April 2026 to September 2026)
• provide Miss X with all the outstanding equipment / adaptations recommended by the occupational therapist
• complete a care act re-assessment for Miss X to identify her up to date care and support needs. Then amend her care and support plan to reflect her identified care needs and how those needs would be met
• consider all relevant placement options and provide Miss X with suitable and accessible accommodation which meets her identified care and support needs.

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

Back to top

Decision

51. I find fault by the Council causing injustice to Miss X. The Council has agreed actions to remedy the injustice caused.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman