Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about how the Council carried out a Care Act assessment. This is because any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council denied her a Care Act assessment because it decided she was low priority. She says this caused her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X cares for her disabled 16-year-old daughter. She asked for a Care Act assessment. The Council considered the information she provided on the same day and decided that Ms X was low priority.
6. Ms X disagreed with the Council’s decision and made a complaint. The Council told Ms X a professional had considered the referral in line with its framework. It apologised for the wait and said it would carry out the assessment as soon as possible.
7. I will not investigate this complaint. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether Ms X disagrees with the decision the Council made.
8. The Council has now carried out an assessment of Ms X’s needs. It aims to complete assessments within six weeks. It took slightly longer. It apologised for the delay and explained it was taking steps to reduce waiting times. I do not consider the delay caused Ms X injustice significant enough to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman