Summary: The Council is at fault as it delayed in complying with our agreed actions following the investigation of Mrs X and Ms Y’s previous complaint about the care of Mr Z. The Council is also at fault as it issued an apology to Ms Y which referred to Mr Z by the wrong name. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms Y for the distress caused and has issued the payment agreed as a remedy for the previous complaint.

The complaint

1. The Council delayed in complying with the agreed actions following the Ombudsman’s investigation of Mrs X and Ms Y’s complaint.

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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 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

4. I have considered information provided by Mrs X on behalf of Ms Y to on the action taken by the Council to implement the agreed actions. I have also considered our correspondence with the Council seeking compliance with our agreed actions and the evidence provided by the Council to show compliance.

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What I found

5. Mrs X was Mr Z’s advocate and Ms Y was his partner. Mrs X and Ms Y made a previous complaint about the care provided to Mr Z following his discharge from hospital. They also complained about the failure to provide adequate assistance to Mr Z with making a housing application and the failure of carers to seek timely assistance when Mr Z did not answer his door. Mr Z was later found to have passed away.
6. We found fault causing injustice to Ms Y. We recommended the following actions which the Council agreed:
7. That the Council:
1. Sends a written apology and makes a payment of £250 to Ms Y to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused to her by the care provider’s failure to follow its procedure when it could not contact Mr Z and for the avoidable time and trouble she was put to in assisting Mr Z with his housing application as the Council did not make reasonable adjustments.
2. Reviews its procedures to ensure the Council makes reasonable adjustments for housing applicants with disabilities and complies with its duty under the Equality Act 2010.
3. Ensures the care provider reviews its procedures to retrieve care records from a service user’s property in the event they have passed away.
4. By training or other means, ensures the care provider’s staff are aware of its procedure in the event a service user cannot be contacted.
8. We asked the Council to issue the apology and payment within one month of my final decision. We asked it to undertake the service improvements within two months of my final decision.
9. The Council was due to issue the apology and payment by 30 June 2022 to Ms Y. It sent the apology on 22 July and asked Ms Y to provide her bank details so it could make the payment. Mrs X informed the Council and us that the apology letter referred to Mr Z by the wrong name. She also said Ms Y would prefer to receive the financial remedy by cheque.
10. On 24 August 2022, the Council reissued the apology letter correcting Mr Z’s name by post. Ms Y did not receive this letter. The Council issued a further copy by email on 30 September. Mrs X informed us that she received a copy of the letter on 4 October 2022.
11. In the meantime we chased the Council on a number of occasions between 3 August and 2 September for it to provide evidence of b) to d) of the agreed actions. The Council failed to provide the required evidence so we notified the Council that the remedy was not satisfied and not complete. On 4 October 2022 we registered a new complaint and notified the Council and Mrs X.
12. In response the Council provided evidence it had implemented the agreed actions b) to d). The Council apologised for not providing the evidence earlier and said it had changed its process for recording remedies and their completion and added administrative resources to assist with monitoring.

Analysis

13. The Council is at fault as it did not provide the apology and payment to Ms Y within one month of our final decision. The Council’s apology did not refer to Mr Z by the correct name. This is fault which will have caused additional distress to Ms Y.
14. The Council delayed in making the payment of £250 to Ms Y which was due by 30 June 2022. This is fault. The Council asked Ms Y for her bank details in the apology letter which was three weeks late. The Council should in future ensure it requests bank details in good time to ensure it can make the payment by the agreed date to ensure compliance with our agreed actions.
15. Ms Y also asked for the payment to be made by cheque. The Council has said it makes all payments electronically so can no longer make payments by cheque. However, it can exceptionally issue a handwritten cheque. In view of Ms Y’s request and the delays in issuing the payment, the Council should have considered issuing a cheque to Ms Y to ensure she received the payment without further delay. I note the Council has now made the payment to Ms Y’s bank account.
16. The Council delayed in providing evidence of its compliance with the agreed actions despite our frequent contact chasing evidence to show the remedy was satisfied. This is fault. We expect councils to carry out the agreed actions within the timescales set out in our final decisions. This is to ensure councils make the necessary changes to avoid other people being caused injustice by the same fault as we have identified.
17. The Council has now provided evidence to show it has satisfied agreed actions a) to d) but it is disappointing that it did not do so until we had registered a new complaint and issued a draft decision. I welcome the Council’s apology and changes to its procedures for recording remedies to address the delays in complying with our agreed actions.
18. I have made further recommendations as I consider the Council’s delay in providing the apology and payment to Ms Y will have caused her a further injustice which the Council should remedy.

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Agreed action

19. That the Council:
1. sends a further written apology to Ms Y for the distress caused by the delay in issuing the apology and payment of £250 and for wrongly naming Mr Z in the apology issued on 22 July 2022.
2. ensures it asks complainants for payment details in good time to enable it to meet the agreed timescales for making payments recommended by the Ombudsman.
20. The Council should take the action set out a) within one month of my final decision.

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Final decision

21. I have found fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice to Ms Y as recommended so I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman