Summary: Mr X complained about delays in the Council completing adaptations to his home following an Occupational Therapy assessment in January 2023. Mr X said this caused him significant distress and he suffered physically. There was fault in the way the Council delayed completing the work to Mr X’s home, did not communicate with Mr X and its poor complaint handling. This frustrated and distressed Mr X, he has lived in an unsuitable home since January 2024, and he was put to time and trouble to complain. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment and issue guidance to its staff.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about delays in the Council completing adaptations to his home following an Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment in January 2023. Mr X said this caused him significant distress and he suffered physically.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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)
4. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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How I considered this complaint

6. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke to him about it on the phone.
7. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

9. Disabled Facilities Grants are provided under the terms of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Councils have a statutory duty to give grants to disabled people for certain adaptations. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, meets the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable.
10. Relevant councils must promote ‘wellbeing’ when carrying out care and support functions. Wellbeing includes the suitability of living accommodation. The Care Act 2014 recognises suitable accommodation as one way of meeting care and support needs. Prevention is critical to the Care Act and home adaptation is an example of secondary prevention.
11. The maximum grant payable by a council is £30,000. A council can award other discretionary help if it thinks it is necessary. The council grant amount is subject to a means test.
12. In March 2022 the government issued non-statutory guidance “Disabled facilities Grant (DFG) Delivery: Guidance for local authorities in England.
13. This guidance advises councils in England on how they can effectively and efficiently deliver DFG funded adaptations to best serve the needs of local older and disabled people. It brings together and sets out in one place existing policy frameworks, legislative duties and powers, together with recommended best practice, to help councils provide an adaptation service to disabled tenants and residents in their area.
14. The March 2022 guidance identifies five key stages to delivering home adaptations:
• Stage 1: First contact with the service. Councils should ensure the public has access to information and advice about the DFG process.
• Stage 2: First contact to assessment and identification of the relevant works. An occupational therapist (OT) will assess the person’s needs and potential solutions through home adaptations.
• Stage 3: Identification of the relevant works to submission of the formal grant application. The person completes and submits the application form together with designs and costing for the works (where necessary).
• Stage 4: Grant application to grant decision. The Council will check the application and issue a decision letter. If a council refuses a grant, it must explain why.
• Stage 5: Approval of grant to completion of works. The works are arranged and carried out and the necessary quality checks made.
15. A council should decide a grant application as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, the timescales for moving through the stages will depend on the urgency and complexity of the works required. The guidance gives the following timescales:
• Urgent and simple works – 55 working days
• Non-urgent and simple works – 130 working days
• Urgent and complex works – 130 days
• Non-urgent and complex works – 180 working days
16. Once the work is complete, the council must pay the grant in full within 12 months of the application date.
17. We expect councils to consider whether interim equipment or temporary works should be provided when it will take them a long time to secure a permanent solution.
18. The Council website states it would respond to complaints within 20 working days.

What happened

19. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
20. Mr X lives in a housing association property. Mr X asked the Council to adapt his home in December 2022 as he had trouble getting upstairs and accessing the bathroom.
21. The Council completed an assessment in January 2023. The OT assessment recommended a Through Floor Lift (TFL) and a Level Access Shower (LAS).
22. The Council presented its assessment to a decision panel in February 2023.
23. In March 2023, Mr X declined the TFL and explained his children needed a bath for their own needs, so a LAS in the family bathroom was not suitable.
24. Mr X continued to chase the application, sending more medical evidence at times.
25. The Council told Mr X of its decision in June 2023. This recommended a TFL and LAS again. This assessment recommended assessing if Mr X could use a shower pod in a room downstairs.
26. The Council sent a letter to Mr X’s housing association in June 2023, asking it for permission to adapt the home by adding a TFL and LAS.
27. The Council wrote to Mr X in July 2023 with the outcome of the major adaptation request. The Council agreed the safest and most suitable recommendation was creating more space if there was not enough space in the bathroom for a LAS and a TFL. Mr X responded to the Council to say he did not want a TFL as he could not use the bathroom upstairs for a LAS as his children needed the bath.
28. The Council chased the Housing Association for a decision several times.
29. Mr X complained to the Council in February 2024. He complained it was over a year since the assessment, and nothing had progressed.
30. In March 2024, the Council changed its recommendation to build an extension for a downstairs bathroom with a LAS.
31. Mr X continued to chase the Council and asked for a response to his complaint.
32. At the end of March 2024, the Council said as Mr X continued to liaise with the OT and DFG team it would close the complaint.
33. Mr X stated he wanted the Council to investigate his complaint. He explained from the first assessment he said his children needed the bath, and the Council had delayed the case.
34. The Council wrote to the Housing Association again in April 2024, asking for permission to complete an extension. The Housing Association stated it had no objections to the adaptations subject to final drawing approval.
35. Mr X continued to chase the Council about the extension and his complaint.
36. In June 2024, the Council sent a company to quote for a TFL. Mr X declined this visit and stated the Council had agreed to the extension. The Council confirmed the work would be an extension.
37. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in June 2024. The response said the Housing Association delayed the application. The Council confirmed it had started the design process, and it had 26 weeks to complete the works.
38. Mr X was not happy with the Council’s response and asked it to consider his complaint at stage two. He said he received no communication from the Council.
39. The Council responded to the stage two complaint in July 2024. The Council accepted it had not contacted Mr X between June 2023 and May 2024. The response confirmed the Council did not know when the work would be completed.
40. Mr X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Mr X would like the Council to complete the adaptations without further delay.
41. In response to my enquiries the Council at first stated its recommendation was a TFL and LAS. The Council later confirmed it had agreed to complete an extension and hoped it would be completed within six months.

My findings

42. Mr X asked the Council for an adaptation in December 2022. The Council completed the OT assessment in January 2023. If it classed the works as non-urgent and complex, the DFG guidance, paragraph 4.16 says the Council had a target to complete the work within 180 working days.
43. The Council stated in its response to my enquiries the assessment changed in March 2024 as the bath could not remain in place for Mr X’s children and install a LAS. This information was available at the OT assessment in January 2023. The guidance paragraph 4.40 confirms the Council “must identify” the needs and works needed to meet the need. This paragraph says “[a] all partners should work to ensure that each adaptation is delivered sensitively, is fit for the purpose identified by the client, their family, or their carers, and within a timeframe that is made explicit at the outset.”
44. Paragraph 4.42 of the guidance says “to reduce the risk of installing inappropriate adaptations” councils should consider:
• the “particular needs of children: to provide for growth and change; and the need for space”; and
• the “needs of other family members and of the family as a whole”.
45. The Council should have got the information it needed to decide Mr X’s family needed to keep use of a bath earlier. Mr X said he told the Council this in January 2023 during the first assessment. He provided evidence to support this by June 2023. When it received the information, the Council should have considered the information, and revised its recommendations in a timely manner. Failure to do so was fault. Had it acted without fault, the Council would have identified the recommendations were not suitable earlier.
46.  
47. Following the government guidance, the Council had a target of 180 working days to complete the works to Mr X’s home from December 2022. This means the Council should have completed the work by September 2023. Mr X contributed three months to this delay in the time taken to provide evidence of his children’s needs. Therefore, but for its fault, the Council should have completed the work by January 2024. The Council has not completed the work yet. This is fault.
48. The Council said the housing association caused the delay. The evidence shows the Council asked and then chased the housing association for permission to complete works in 2023. However, these were works it later accepted were inappropriate. When the Council asked it to agree to the extension, the housing association agreed within two weeks. On the balance of probabilities, had the Council asked the housing association to complete the correct works, it would not have delayed agreeing.
49. As a result of the Council’s fault, Mr X has not been able to use the bathroom without using the stairs the Council has assessed it was not suitable for him to use. This has impacted Mr X’s ability to maintain personal hygiene with dignity and without pain. This is an injustice. Mr X has lived in an unsuitable property since January 2024.
50. Paragraph 4.17 in the guidance notes “it is important to keep the client updated on progress (and any potential delays) at all stages”. The Council has not done this. This is fault, frustrating Mr X.

Communication and complaint handling

51. The Council accepted in its complaint response its communication was not clear and delayed. This is fault, frustrating Mr X.
52. Mr X complained in February 2024. The Council at first closed the complaint and stated Mr X agreed to this. Mr X responded to the Council, on the same day, to confirm he wanted to complain. Mr X did not agree with the Council closing his complaint.
53. The Council then responded to the complaint in June 2024, four months after the complaint. The Council website confirms it should respond to complaints within 20 days. The Council took four months to respond to this complaint. This is fault, frustrating Mr X.

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Agreed action

54. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mr X by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mr X for delaying completing his adaptations, poor communication and poor complaint handling. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Mr X £150 as an acknowledgement of the time and trouble he has spent pursuing this complaint.
• Pay Mr X £150 to acknowledge the distress and frustration the Council fault caused.
• Pay Mr X £150 per month to acknowledge he is living in unsuitable accommodation due to the Council delays. This payment is from January 2024 when the Council should have completed the work. This payment is until the work is completed, or six months have passed. If the work is not completed within six months from the date of this decision, the Ombudsman would consider a new complaint about this matter.
• Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling.
• Remind relevant staff of the importance of fully considering the needs of the wider family when completing OT assessments for DFG applications.
• Provide guidance to staff about the Council’s responsibilities when completing DFG applications and works, referencing the guidance in paragraph 11.
55. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

56. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to actions to remedy the injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman