Summary: Mrs X complains that the Council failed to provide support for her adult son, Mr S, in 2018, and that the Council failed on its promises of work experience and a job for Mr S. Mrs X says the Council’s failings have caused her son to become depressed and housebound. The Ombudsman does not find the Council at fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her adult son, Mr S, that the Council failed to provide Care Act compliant support in 2018 for Mr S which adversely affected his training and support needs. Mrs X says a Council officer specifically promised work experience with the Council if her son completed the training, with a long-term view to supporting his wish to own/run a café for people with learning disabilities.
2. Mrs X says the Council’s failings have caused her son to become depressed and housebound. She says Mr S has no quality of life.

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What I have investigated

3. I have investigated whether the Council assessed Mr S’s needs in line with its duties under the Care Act. I have also investigated the parts of Mrs X’s complaint about Council help for Mr S to set up a café for vulnerable adults, about Mr S’s web design training, and about a level three course.
4. The final section of this statement contains my reasons for not investigating the part of the complaint about the Council not giving Mr S a job.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. 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)
6. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
7. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)
8. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

9. Mr S has given written consent for his mother, Mrs X, to represent this complaint on his behalf.
10. I considered the information and documents provided by Mrs X and the Council. I spoke to Mrs X about the complaint. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments and further information received before I reached a final decision.
11. I considered the relevant legislation, statutory guidance, and policies, set out below.

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What I found

What should have happened

12. Sections nine and ten of the Care Act 2014 (‘the Act’) say where it appears to a council that an adult may have care and support needs, the council must assess that person to see if they do have care and support needs, and if they do, what those needs are.
13. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance (regularly updated) says the purpose of an assessment is to identify the person’s needs. It says the assessment will support how the council decides whether the person’s needs are eligible for care and support from the council, and how those needs will be met.

What happened – a summary

14. Mr S has learning difficulties and special needs. Mrs X, Mr S’s mother, has a long history of contact with the Council about a variety of needs and issues, relating to her son and to herself.
15. In 2013 or 2014, the Council allocated Mrs X a single point of contact, Officer A. Officer A’s role was to handle Mrs X’s various requests for help and support. Mrs X had gone to local councillors’ surgeries, asking for support. These councillors asked Officer A if he could provide some training support for Mr S regarding food hygiene, getting Mr S work experience in a café environment, and support to increase Mr S’s skills in web design.
16. Officer A found a level two food hygiene course which it helped Mr S access. Mr S successfully completed this course.
17. Officer A found three opportunities for work experience in a café environment. The Council says Mrs X rejected all three.
18. Officer A discussed with Mr S and Mrs X possibly finding work for Mr S in a café if there was a vacancy for work experience.
19. Officer A could not find a suitable web design course for Mr S. Instead, Officer A’s colleague (Officer B) – who had suitable technology skills – informally supported Mr S to experience some of the skills needed to design websites. Officer B and Mr S agreed to six 30-minute sessions. These were completed. Officer B then left the Council.
20. In November 2018, Mrs X complained to the Council.
21. In its complaint response, the Council said Officer A had agreed a pathway with Mr S which included some food hygiene training (run by an external company) and some support with web design. The Council said costs for opening a café focused on people with learning disabilities were prohibitive. It said Officer A had talked to local community groups about using their premises, and offered two possibilities to Mr S and Mrs X. It said Mr S and Mrs X dismissed one without viewing it and visited the second but could not reach an agreement.
22. The Council said Officer A put forward two options for work experience. It said Mr S and Mrs X dismissed the first option. The second option was to look at the Council’s recruitability scheme and apply for positions through that scheme. The Council said it did not, and could not, make any guarantees because there was a process it had to follow.
23. The Council said Officer A had not promised Mr S a job at any point.
24. In March 2019, Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Promise to help Mr S set up a café for vulnerable adults

25. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to deliver its promise to help Mr S set up a café for vulnerable adults.
26. I have not seen any evidence that the Council promised to help Mr S set up a café for vulnerable adults. The evidence shows that the aim of the Council’s involvement regarding education and training for Mr S was to help him gain qualifications with a long-term view to supporting his wish to own/run a café for people with learning disabilities.
27. Mrs X says Officer A specifically promised Mr S work experience with the Council if her son completed the training.
28. I have seen no evidence which shows Officer A promised Mr S work experience. The evidence shows that on numerous occasions, Officer A and other Council officers told Mrs X and Mr S that the Council could not guarantee Mr S would get work experience through its recruitability scheme.
29. The Council arranged for a suitable training course for Mr S, which he attended and completed. The Council is under no obligation to provide work experience. Further, I find that Mr S and Mrs X rejected at least one offer of work experience.
30. For these reasons, I do not find the Council at fault.

Failure to complete Mr S’s web design training

31. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to complete Mr S’s training in web design.
32. The Council was not able to find a suitable training course for Mr S in web design. Instead, Officer A arranged that Officer B would informally meet with Mr S for six sessions, of 30 minutes each. The Council says Officer B completed these six sessions before he left the Council.
33. I find that the Council met its agreement with Mr S through the six sessions provided by Officer B. I do not agree with Mrs X that the Council failed to complete Mr S’s training. I do not find it was official or formal training. For this reason, I do not find the Council at fault.

Failure to meet Mr S’s needs

34. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to provide Care Act compliant support for Mr S.
35. As I have said above (paragraph 12), the Care Act says where it appears to a council that an adult may have care and support needs, the council must assess that person to see if they have care and support needs, and if they do, what those needs are.
36. The evidence shows that the Council assessed Mr S’s care and support needs from 2015 onwards, and produced a support plan for Mr S. I find that the Council has provided support in line with its duties under the Care Act. I therefore do not find the Council at fault.
37. Mrs X is not happy with the support the Council has given Mr S. This is not evidence of fault.

Level three course not meeting Mr S’s needs

38. Mrs X complains that the level three course Mr S attends does not meet his needs.
39. The Council says Mr S has not attended a level three course. It says a Council officer supported Mr S to help him pass the level three exam by doing practice exam papers. It says Mr S’s scores were too far away from the pass mark. This meant Mr S was not able to reach the necessary standard to participate in the level three course he wanted to take.
40. Mr S has not attended a level three course, so I do not agree with Mrs X that the level three course fails to meet Mr S’s needs. For this reason, I do not find the Council at fault.

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Final decision

41. I have completed my investigation and I do not find the Council at fault.

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Part of the complaint that I did not investigate

Promise of a job

42. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to deliver on its promise of giving Mr S a job.
43. The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about personnel issues, including investigating councils’ actions in respect of employment (paragraph seven). Therefore, this part of Mrs X’s complaint is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
44. For this reason, I cannot investigate this part of Mrs X’s complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman