Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the care and support provided to her by Manchester City Council. This is because we are satisfied the Council is taking appropriate action to deal with Miss X’s concerns and that an investigation by the Ombudsmen would be unlikely to find fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, is complaining about the care and support provided to her by Manchester City Council (the Council).
2. Miss X complains that the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments for her to allow her to access and engage with her care and did not offer her advocacy support. Miss X says the Council obtained information about her without her consent and produced a care plan that was inaccurate, inappropriate and out of date. In addition, Miss X says the Council has denied her the opportunity to make decisions about the care she receives.
3. Miss X says she has been left unsupported and is unable to access the care services she needs. In addition, Miss X says the Council has removed her ability to make decisions about her own care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Health Service Ombudsman have the power to jointly consider complaints about health and social care. (Local Government Act 1974, section 33ZA, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 18ZA).
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. We use the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. If there has been fault, we consider whether it has caused injustice or hardship (Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 3(1) and Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended).
6. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. Similarly, we may not investigate a complaint if we would be unable to add to the work an organisation has done or is in the process of doing.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council. I also considered relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Miss X has an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I will consider any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background events

9. Miss X has complex care needs and a number of diagnoses, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She finds communication challenging and prefers to communicate in writing.
10. Miss X is entitled to free aftercare services under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983. These are services intended to prevent a deterioration in a person’s mental health condition and reduce the risk of readmission to hospital under that Act. The duty to provide or arrange these services is shared by the Council and local Integrated Care Board.
11. In May 2024, Miss X asked the Council to complete a Care Act Assessment for her. The purpose of this assessment was to determine whether Miss X had any social care needs and, if so, how these could be met in the community.
12. A social worker completed the assessment the following month. The assessment found Miss X required support with some activities of daily living, such as meal preparation and personal care. The social worker produced a care and support plan. This set out that Miss X would be supported by a personal assistant (PA).
13. Miss X said she would be unwilling to accept care unless it was provided free of charge as part of her section 117 aftercare provision. The Council agreed to this.
14. Between January and November 2025, Miss X submitted six complaints to the Council regarding various aspects of her care. Miss X complained that the Council:

• failed to make reasonable adjustments to allow her to access and engage with her care;
• accessed her health records without her consent and produced a care plan containing inaccurate, inappropriate and out of date information;
• completed a financial assessment without her consent. Miss X said she was only interested in receiving social care services from the Council if they were included in her section 117 provision;
• refused to fund a gym membership for her but instead suggested paying for an anxiety-management app that cost more;
• refused to allow her to make decisions regarding how she uses and manages her Direct Payments even though she has capacity to do so;
• reduced her support hours without telling her; and
• took so long to asses her and put a care plan in place that she had been discharged from the advocacy service she was using.

15. The Council responded to these complaints between January and November 2025. The Council said:

• the care planning process for Miss X was effectively ongoing but could not continue unless she was prepared to work with her allocated social worker;
• it had made reasonable adjustments for Miss X by changing her allocated social worker at her request and ensuring the newly allocated social worker was appropriately trained and had guidance from the Council’s Autism Team, The Council said it had also respected Miss X’s preference for written communication where possible;
• it would make a referral for advocacy support at Miss X’s request;
• Miss X would have the opportunity to work with the allocated social worker to amend any parts of the care and support plan that contained inaccurate, irrelevant or out of date information; and
• the decision to offer Miss X a managed Direct Payments account was based on her reports that she often found aspects of daily life overwhelming. The Council said this potentially increased the risk that payments may not be made to support workers and that care could then be jeopardised.

My view

16. As detailed above, Miss X is complaining about several aspects of the care provided to her by the Council. This includes concerns about the provision set out in her care and support plan.
17. In its response to Miss X’s complaint, the Council has explained that the plan is not yet finalised. It has invited Miss X to work with her allocated social worker to complete the care planning process. This will give Miss X the opportunity to have further input into the care and support plan and to correct any information she considers inaccurate.
18. The Council has also offered to arrange for an advocate to support Miss X with this process.
19. The evidence I have seen shows the Council is attempting to work to resolve Miss X’s concerns through the care planning process and has offered to support her to engage with this work. I consider this to be the most appropriate way to address the concerns Miss X has brought to the Ombudsmen. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint, therefore, as I consider it unlikely an investigation would find fault by the Council.
20. If Miss X remains dissatisfied once her care plan has been finalised, it is open to her to pursue a further complaint with the Council. She will then be able to approach the Ombudsmen again to ask us to consider her complaint.

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Decision

21. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because we are satisfied the Council is taking appropriate action to resolve her concerns and that our investigation would be unlikely to find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman