Birmingham City Council (22 005 721)
Category : Adult care services > Disabled facilities grants
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 Feb 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council considered adaptations to the complainant’s property. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Miss X, complains about how the Council dealt with her application for a Disabled Facility Grant (DFG) in order to make adaptations to her property. Miss X says the adaptations agreed by the Council do not fully meet the needs of her two disabled children.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X applied to the Council for a DFG in order to make adaptations to her property in order to meet the needs of her two children who are disabled. A Occupational Therapist (OT) visited Miss X’s property to assess what adaptations were needed. The OT provided their assessment who agreed to fund the recommended adaptations. Miss X however does not agree that these fully meet the needs of her children.
- I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint, because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council followed the correct steps in deciding what adaptations it would fund with a DFG. It arranged and fully considered an OT assessment, explaining to Miss X why it would not make the adaptations she requested. Whilst Miss X disagreed with the Council this does not mean it has done anything wrong.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman