Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to properly investigate allegations made by his carers that he behaved in an inappropriate manner. The Council is not at fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to properly investigate allegations made by his carers that he behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner. He is also unhappy the Council recorded the allegations on his care and support plan.
2. Mr X denies the allegations and says they are distressing to him and his family. He says they will affect his ability to get new carers if the current arrangement breaks down.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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)
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. I have exercised discretion to investigate Mr X’s complaint because his health conditions mean he needs significant support to make and continue with complaints.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have considered:
• all the information Mr X provided;
• the supporting documents the Council provided; and
• relevant law 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

Relevant law and guidance

9. Section 18 of the Care Act 2014 places a duty on councils to meet an adult’s eligible care and support needs.
10. To do this, councils must provide a care and support plan. The care and support plan should consider what needs the person has, what they want to achieve and what they can do by themselves or with existing support.

What happened

11. Mr X has a degenerative health condition which affects his ability to mobilise and care for himself. He lives at home with his mother and receives support from carers visiting twice a day. The carers support includes helping Mr X with his urinary continence.
12. Mr X has had home visits from carers since at least 2012. In November 2015, Mr X’s care provider (Provider A) contacted the Council to say Mr X had made an inappropriate request of some of his carers in relation to his continence.
13. The Council visited Mr X and raised the allegation with him. Mr X denied it. The Council checked his care records and found one record relating to Mr X’s toileting support. The Council's records do not state whether the care record noted an issue.
14. In August 2017, Mr X’s care provider (Provider B) contacted the Council with concerns Mr X was behaving inappropriately and making staff feel uncomfortable when helping him to toilet. The Council suggested a manager from Provider B visit Mr X and discuss the issue.
15. Provider B again contacted the Council in mid-January 2018. It said it would no longer carry out weekend calls as Mr X was continuing to make staff feel uncomfortable.
16. In late-January 2018 Provider B asked the Council to find another provider urgently. It said staff felt very uncomfortable.
17. The Council visited Mr X the following week. It told him Provider B no longer wanted to provide his support and discussed the allegations Provider B made. Mr X denied he had persistently behaved improperly but accepted he made one inappropriate request.
18. In September 2018, the Council found a new provider (Provider C). Provider C visited Mr X on one evening and one morning before ending its support with immediate effect. Provider C told the Council Mr X had behaved inappropriately in the evening and made an explicit request during the morning visit. It said it was no longer willing to send staff to his home.
19. The Council contacted Mr X’s most recent social worker about the allegation. The social worker responded to say the issues were long-standing. The Council then called Provider C for more information.
20. The Council visited Mr X to discuss the allegation and to inform him Provider C had ended their support. Mr X denied the allegation and any previous misconduct. The Council considered Mr X’s history with the previous care providers and decided it would need to draw up a new care and support plan to reflect the issues.
21. The Council issued a new care and support plan in early October 2018. It said Mr X should now be supported with his toileting using a different method and noted he would be visited by either two female carers or one male carer. It recorded Mr X denied the allegations.
22. Mr X was unhappy the allegation was on his care and support plan. He said:
• the Council had not properly investigated the allegations;
• it did not ask for his view;
• it did not provide any evidence;
• he was not aware of previous allegations; and
• he wanted the allegation removing from his records.

Findings

23. Mr X says the Council did not properly investigate the allegations his carers made. The Ombudsman cannot question a council’s decision where it was made without fault. I am satisfied the Council took appropriate action to investigate the allegations. This included contacting the care providers for more detail, speaking to Mr X’s social worker, and raising the allegations with him.
24. The Council properly investigated the allegations and, in September 2018, was satisfied they were concerning enough to record on Mr X’s care and support plan. The Council is not at fault. It has a duty to meet Mr X’s eligible needs. To do this, it must make care providers aware of any potential risks to ensure both Mr X and staff are kept safe and provision continues.

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Final decision

25. I have completed my investigation. I have not found evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman