Summary: Mr X complains that the Council refused to pay for the repair of a gate at a property where his disabled son and daughter live. Mr X also complains that the Council refuses to accept, or make any provision for, the social care needs of his children. I have ended my investigation because I do not find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. I refer to the complainant here as Mr X. Mr X says the Council refused to pay for the repair of a gate at a property where his disabled son and daughter live. Mr X also complains that the Council refuses to accept, or make any provision for, the social care needs of his children.
2. Mr X says a gate at the property is faulty and this presents a danger to his disabled children who are at risk of injury and death every time they open the front door and access the property. Mr X says the Council has no working relationship with his family, son and daughter and it is failing to support his son, daughter, and family.
3. Mr X wants the Council to:
• build a working relationship for the sake of his son, daughter and family;
• remove the current danger;
• carry out a holistic assessment of his son’s and daughter’s complex needs;
• accept his daughter has social care needs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. 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(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the complaint and background information provided by Mr X and the Council. I considered the Ombudsman’s decision on a previous complaint brought by Mr X concerning a disabled facilities grant.
7. I set out my initial thoughts on the complaint and I considered Mr X’s comments in response.

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What I found

The Gate

8. Mr X complained to the Council that it refused to pay for repairs to a gate which had been installed at the property where his children live. In 2011, the Council agreed to fund the installation of a gate at the property as part of adaptations to the property using a disabled facilities grant. The Council said then that the gate was not part of the disabled facilities grant works but it exercised its discretion to include it.
9. Mr X points to the Ombudsman’s decision on the complaint he made in 2011 as proof that the gate was installed as part of the disabled facilities grant works and so maintains the Council retains responsibility for the maintenance of the gate. Mr X says the Ombudsman gave the Council a directive on how his daughter’s continuing safety will be ensured.
10. The Council explained, in its response to Mr X’s complaint, that installation of the gate was not funded by its adult social care department under the National Assistance Act 1948, since replaced by the Care Act 2014. It was therefore not funded because of an assessed need of either his son or daughter.
11. I do not find fault with the Council’s decision not to pay for repairs to the gate. Whether the gate was paid for as part of the disabled facilities grant works or through a different funding mechanism, the Council does not then assume an ongoing responsibility for maintenance of the gate.
12. The Ombudsman’s decision did not require the Council to maintain the gate.

The social care needs of Mr X’s daughter

13. This matter was raised by Mr X at the second stage of the Council’s complaints process. This is relevant because Mr X did not refer to his son in his complaint to the Council whether at the first or second stage of the complaints process.
14. The first issue Mr X raised concerned his daughter’s safety following an incident in which she left her home unsupervised because an access gate was insecure.
15. The Council said Mr X’s daughter is supervised on a 24 hour basis and there have been no other incidents of her being able to leave the home unsupervised. It considered the security measures in place at the home are proportionate and the risk to Mr X’s daughter is low given the level of supervision she is under.
16. As to the level of social care support received by Mr X’s daughter, the Council explained that she receives care under the NHS continuing health care scheme. It said if there is any unmet social care need then the continuing health care team could approach the Council directly.
17. I do not find fault by the Council whether in terms of its assessment of the safety risk to Mr X’s daughter or the matter of her ongoing social care needs.

The social care needs of Mr X’s son

18. Mr X’s statement of complaint to the Ombudsman made reference to the social care needs of his son. Mr X said there were safety risks posed to both children because of the broken gate. He then said the Council should carry out a holistic assessment of his son and daughter.
19. Mr X discussed the complaint with an Ombudsman investigator. At that stage, he revealed that his son’s needs have not been assessed for five or six years even though there should be annual reviews.
20. The issue of Mr X’s son’s needs was not included as part of the complaint made to the Council. It therefore did not have the opportunity to consider and respond to the complaint. There is a legal requirement that a council should first investigate and respond to a complaint before the matter is considered by the Ombudsman.
21. Mr X complained about the assessment of his son’s needs as part of his previous complaint to the Ombudsman. So I am satisfied that he is aware of the assessment process and how to complain about it. I do not find there are grounds for the Ombudsman to now deal with a complaint which is premature. Mr X should now make a complaint to the Council directly.

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Final decision

22. I have ended my investigation of this complaint because I did not find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman