London Borough of Tower Hamlets (23 020 156)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Disabled facilities grants 11-Jun-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the outcome of his occupational therapy assessment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

London Borough of Haringey (23 012 847)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 10-Jun-2024

Summary: Miss Y complains about problems during the build of a Disabled Facilities Grant to adapt her house to meet the needs of her children. The Council has already acknowledged and accepted that some aspects of the workmanship was poor, and that Miss Y and her family experienced an unusual amount of disruption. We agree with the Council’s findings but have recommended additional remedy which the Council has agreed to implement.

City of Wolverhampton Council (24 002 837)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Disabled facilities grants 04-Jun-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the disabled adaptations to her council home. This is because we cannot investigate a council’s actions when it is acting as in its management of social housing role.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (23 011 518)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 02-Jun-2024

Summary: Ms Y complained on behalf of Mrs X about the time taken by the Council to complete adaptations to Mrs X’s home. We have found the Council at fault for delaying completing adaptations to Mrs X’s property. As a result, Mrs X has lived in her home without adaptations she needed. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise, make a financial payment to Mrs X and Ms Y and look at how it could improve its procedures around communication.

Wyre Borough Council (23 014 184)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 02-Jun-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained about how the Council dealt with the disabled facilities grant works at her property. She also complained the Council initially refused and then delayed providing her family with temporary accommodation to cover the period the adaptation work was scheduled for. There were some faults by the Council in how it dealt with the temporary accommodation matter. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

City of York Council (24 000 663)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Disabled facilities grants 21-May-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to provide Mrs X with adaptations she needed in a timely manner. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

Derbyshire County Council (23 013 220)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 20-May-2024

Summary: Miss B complains about how the Council handled adaptations to her property under a Disabled Facilities Grant. There was no fault in how the Council ensured this met her child’s needs. The Council took too long to deal with her complaint about the adaptations. This caused Miss B frustration. I cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint that the work was not supervised properly as this is the housing authority’s responsibility and this investigation is about the social care authority.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (23 018 841)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 20-May-2024

Summary: Mrs E complained the Council has delayed processing her daughter’s Disabled Facilities Grant application. We find the Council was at fault for its significant delays in dealing with the application. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

Adur District Council (23 007 098)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 15-May-2024

Summary: The Ombudsmen find fault with the Council for its repairs handling, delay adapting Mr Y’s bathroom, delay in dealing with the complaint Miss X made on his behalf, and for poor communication with Mr Y and Miss X throughout. The Council has agreed to apologise, make payments to Mr Y and Miss X, and act to improve its services.

London Borough of Hillingdon (23 010 321)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 12-May-2024

Summary: The Council’s failure to work in a joined-up way across its repairs and adaptations teams was fault. It should not have closed Ms Y’s adaptations case when it did. The Council has agreed to apologise, write to Ms Y about her adaptations, work with the repairs service, make a payment, and act to improve its services.