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.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about how the Council dealt with the disabled facilities grant (DFG) adaptation at her property. In particular she said the Council:

• delayed providing DFG for a hoist installation in her property to meet her child’s needs
• initially refused and then delayed providing temporary accommodation to her family for the period the DFG adaptation work was scheduled
• wrongly sent and asked her child to complete a homeless/refugee form which was not related to her child’s disability and/or the DFG works.

2. Mrs X said the matter caused her distress, inconvenience, anger, frustration, and it affected both her mental and physical health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. 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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What I have and have not investigated

7. I have not exercised our discretion to investigate matters prior to June 2023. This is because the disabled facilities grant (DFG) adaptations carried out in 2017 are historic matters.
8. This investigation covers the period from when the DFG process started (June 2023) to when the Council completed the adaptation works at Mrs X’s property (March 2024).

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How I considered this complaint

9. I have discussed the complaint with Mrs X and considered the information she provided. I also considered the information the Council provided in response to my enquiries.
10. I sent Mrs X and the Council a copy of my draft decision and considered all comments received before reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Disabled facilities grants

11. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) are for people with a qualifying disability who need adaptations in their home to help them remain in their home. DFG are provided under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
12. Councils have a statutory duty to give grants to disabled people for certain adaptations. These include enabling the disabled person to access their home and essential facilities within the home.
13. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, appropriate for the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable.
14. The process of applying for a DFG usually requires:

• an assessment by an Occupational Therapist or other qualified assessor to identify the person’s needs;
• a schedule of works setting out the adaptations to meet the identified needs. Complex adaptations might also need plans or technical drawings;
• quotes from at least two contractors for the cost of the works; and
• certificates and approvals from both a tenant and a landlord, where the applicant is a tenant, or an owner's certificate if the applicant owns their own home.

15. When the Council has all the necessary information, the formal grant application is complete. The Council should decide a grant application as soon as possible and must do so within six months.
16. Works should be completed, and grants paid within twelve months of an application being approved.

Provision of temporary accommodation during DFG works to a young person with disabilities

17. The responsibility to meet the care needs of young people with disabilities lies with the social care authority. This is not a duty of the Borough Council.

Key events

18. Mrs X’s child, Y, lives with her. Y has some disabilities.
19. In June 2023, the Council received an occupational therapist (OT) referral for disabled facilities grant (DFG) works to be completed in Mrs X’s property to meet Y’s needs.
20. The OT recommendations included reconfiguration of an existing adapted shower room, provision of ceiling track hoist in shower room and bedroom, and hoist installation.
21. Between July 2023 and October 2023, Mrs X completed the DFG application form and the Council obtained quotes, hoist plans and a schedule of works for the proposed adaptations.
22. In late October 2023, the OT raised concerns with the Council about how Y would be affected if he remained at home whilst the adaptation works were ongoing.
23. In response to the OT concerns, the Council’s said it could not fund the cost of temporary accommodation (TA) via the DFG fund, but it could explore this via its Housing Options Service. It did not, however, refer to or liaise with the county council as social care authority.
24. On 30 October 2023, the Council sent Mrs X its housing needs assessment application form for Y to complete. This was to help arrange TA for Mrs X’s family for the period the works were scheduled to take place. The content of the form included questions about an applicant’s immigration status and whether they were homeless. The Council said it took this approach to check if Y was eligible for alternative funding and support to source TA for the family.
25. The next day, Mrs X formally complained about how the Council had dealt with the DFG work at her property. She said the previous DFG works the Council completed in 2017 were not properly done and as such the hoist could not be safely installed. As regards the TA, Mrs X complained about the content of the form the Council sent to Y, which she said had nothing to do with Y’s disability or the DFG application and she found offensive. She also questioned why the Council was unable to provide her family with TA as recommended by the OT given it had temporarily rehoused them during a previous DFG adaptation. Mrs X said she would not allow the adaptation work start until the Council sorted her concerns out.
26. Due to Mrs X’s dissatisfaction about the ‘homeless/refugee’ application form the Council sent to Y, the Council escalated the matter internally. In early November 2023, the Council agreed to provide TA for Mrs X’s family for a two‑week period to cover when the adaptation work was scheduled for (late November 2023 to early December 2023).
27. In the Council’s responses to Mrs X’s complaint, it said:

• previous DFG works were properly completed and approved by building control
• it did not normally provide TA for DFG adaptation works. But it was willing to help Mrs X’s family which was why it sent and asked Y to complete a housing needs assessment form to check if he was eligible and if Y could claim temporary housing costs via its Housing Options Service
• to access support from its Housing Options Service, Y needed to have completed the housing needs assessment application form which was the best‑fit application process. The Council explained it used this process so it could assist Mrs X’s family with TA without any cost to them
• it subsequently agreed to, and it had arranged TA for Mrs X’s family to cover the period the DFG adaptation work was scheduled for
• it was sorry if the housing needs assessment form had caused her distress, but it assured her that was not its intention. The Council said it would review its process and explore renaming the application form to make it more inclusive
• the DFG adaptation work at Mrs X’s property was progressing with regular site visits to ensure the work was properly completed.

28. Mrs X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s responses. She made a complaint to the Ombudsman.
29. In February 2024, the hoist was installed and after a final inspection, the Council confirmed the DFG work was completed at Mrs X’s property in March 2024.
30. In response to my enquiries, the Council confirmed there had been no occasion where it had suggested the county council would be able and/or willing to assist it in arranging and providing TA while DFG work was carried out. The Council also confirmed its decision to fund TA for Mrs X’s family was made with negligible delay so, it did not liaise with the county council on the matter.

Analysis

Delays with DFG process

31. The law requires councils to take no longer than 18 months from start of the DFG process to completion of the works. In this case, the Council took a total of nine months to complete the DFG process (June 2023 to March 2024). This was not fault.

Provision of temporary accommodation during DFG works and the use of appropriate application form

32. The duty to meet the care needs of young people with disabilities lies with the county council. The Council in this case is a borough council so it was not its responsibility to have provided TA to Y and Mrs X’s family during the period the DFG adaptation works took place.
33. But evidence shows the Council considered the OT concerns and the request for TA to be provided to Mrs X’s family to meet Y’s needs without any delays. The OT requested TA to be provided to Y and the family in late October 2023 and the Council agreed to temporarily rehouse the family at the beginning of November 2023. I consider it went beyond its remit to ensure the family were rehoused for the two‑week period the DFG adaptation works were carried out albeit its initial refusal.
34. However, I find fault by the Council for its failure to liaise with the county council as social care authority whose duty is to meet the care needs of young people with disabilities. This was fault. This caused Mrs X avoidable distress and the time and trouble to get the matter resolved.
35. I consider the Council with the best of intentions sent its housing needs assessment application form to Y to complete so it could assist the family with securing TA. While I acknowledge the content of the application form caused distress to Mrs X, the Council apologised to Mrs X in its response letter to her complaint. The Council also said it would review its process as it relates to the application form being more inclusive. I find these remedies are proportionate with our guidance on remedies.

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Agreed action

36. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, the Council has agreed to within one month of the final decision:

• apologise in writing to Mrs X to acknowledge the injustice caused by the Council’s failure to liaise with the county council over the temporary accommodation matter as identified above. The apology should be in accordance with our guidance, Making an effective apology
• review the Council’s internal policies/procedures and train staff to ensure the Council liaises with the County Council and other relevant bodies about dealing with temporary accommodation requests for young people with disabilities during DFG adaptation works. This should include key responsibilities of each council and timescales to meet these responsibilities
• review the naming of the Council’s housing assessment form(s) to ensure they are relevant to different situations and to avoid offence from a lack of inclusion.

37. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

38. I find some evidence of faults by the Council leading to injustice. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman