Milton Keynes Council (19 006 070)

Category : Adult care services > Direct payments

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 10 Feb 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Miss B complained the Council unreasonably reduced the amount it disregards for holidays in her financial assessment when her circumstances have not changed. The Council’s calculation of the disregard was carried out properly but the Council applied it from the wrong date. The Council will amend when its 2019 calculation starts from and refund Miss B the difference between the two amounts.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss B, complained the Council unreasonably reduced the amount it disregards for holidays in her financial assessment when her circumstances have not changed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. The Ombudsman cannot question whether a Council’s decision is right or wrong simply because Miss B disagrees with it. He must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1), 26A(1), as amended and 34(3))
  2. If we are satisfied with a Council’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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. As part of the investigation, I have:
    • considered the complaint and Miss B's comments;
    • made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided; and
    • gave the Council and Miss B an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

Background

  1. Miss B receives a direct payment from the Council. Each year the Council carries out a financial assessment. In 2018 the Council disregarded £28.23 for holiday costs as part of that assessment. Miss B did not contribute towards the costs of her care. In 2019 the Council disregarded £17.48 for holiday costs. Miss B now contributes £28.98 towards her care.

Analysis

  1. Miss B says the Council unreasonably reduced the amount it disregards for holidays in her financial assessment when her circumstances have not changed. Miss B says the Council disregarded an amount for two holidays in 2018 but only one holiday in 2019. Miss B says because her circumstances have not changed the Council should disregard the same amount in 2019 as in 2018.
  2. The starting point for me is the assessment and support plan. Having considered the support plan I note the support plan does not say Miss B needs an annual holiday. Instead the support plan says Miss B needs five hours support per week from a PA, to be used flexibly. The support plan records part of that support is for Miss B to access the community. The support plan says this will start off with exploring the local area before developing to trips further afield. So, I am satisfied the support plan does not identify the need for Miss B to have an annual holiday.
  3. I am satisfied though the Council disregarded £28.23 per week for costs of a holiday in 2018 and £17.48 for the costs of a holiday in 2019. I understand why Miss B would be concerned about the different amount disregarded given from her perspective her needs have not changed. However, when deciding how much to disregard to allow for someone to support Miss B when she is on holiday the Council relies on the documentary evidence Miss B provides. In this case in 2019 Miss B provided three documents which showed the amount she had spent on holidays since October 2018. Those three amounts when calculated over 52 weeks equated to £17.48. So, I am satisfied the Council disregarded a smaller amount in its 2019 assessment because the evidence Miss B provided of holiday costs for that assessment was less than she provided in 2018. As the Council has calculated the disregard based on the costs incurred by Miss B I have no grounds to criticise it.
  4. I am, however, confused about the period the Council has applied the disregard for. The 2018 calculation applies from 6 August 2018. However, the 2019 assessment applies from 22 April 2019. As the Council calculates the disregard over a 52 week period this means Miss B has lost out on part of the cost she incurred for 2018’s holiday because the Council changed the amount from 22 April 2019 rather than from 52 weeks after the 2018 assessment. I consider that fault. If the Council intends to calculate the amount it disregards over a 12 month period it needs to ensure each new financial assessment starts after the previous 12 month period has expired. I therefore recommended the Council apply the disregard of £28.23 until 5 August 2019, which is 12 months from the date the Council began the £28.23 disregard and then use the new disregarded amount of £17.48 from 6 August 2019. I recommended the Council refund to Miss B the difference between those two figures for the period 22 April 2019-5 August 2019. The Council has agreed to my recommendations.

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Agreed action

  1. Within one month of my decision the Council should amend the period for which it applied the 2019 disregard for Miss B’s holiday and refund her the difference between the two calculations.

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Final decision

  1. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council in part of the complaint which caused an injustice to Miss B. I am satisfied the action the Council will take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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