Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to properly arrange the transfer of care when he moved to a different area. There was fault in how the Council failed to refer Mr X to his new council when it knew he would be moving. This caused Mr X avoidable distress and frustration for which the Council agreed to apologise and pay Mr X a financial remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to properly arrange the transfer of care when he moved to a different area in August 2020, including not providing details of his care and support needs to his new council. As a result, he said he had to go through the care planning process again after he moved and his needs are not being met. He wanted the Council to make sure his new council has all the information about his needs.

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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. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered:
• the information Mr X provided and discussed the complaint with him;
• the Council’s comments on the complaint and the supporting information it provided; and
• relevant law and guidance.
7. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Continuity of care

8. Someone who has care and support needs are free to move to a new council area. When this happens, the law says the councils for where they are moving from, and where they are moving to, must work together to ensure the person’s needs are met when they move. (Care Act 2014, section 37)
9. The council for the areas someone is moving to, must reassess the person’s needs and make sure these needs are met from the day of their move.
10. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance (the Guidance) says that, where a council knows someone with care and support needs intends to move to another council’s area, it should tell the council for the other area. The council someone is moving from, should send the new council the most recent care and support plan, and other relevant information the new council asks for.

What happened

11. Mr X has several physical health problems which affect his mobility and vision. He lived in the Council’s area and had ongoing contact with social workers for many years. Mr X last had a package of care arranged by the Council in early 2020, although he cancelled this around April 2020.
12. Around 2017, Mr X told the Council he wanted to move to Dorset. However, it took some time to find a suitable property in the area Mr X wanted to move to.
13. The Council’s case records show that, in November 2017 and March 2018 the Council considered contacting the council for the area Mr X wanted to move to. However, it did not do so because, at those times, Mr X was still trying to find a suitable property.
14. Throughout early 2020, the case records show several notes that Mr X may have found a suitable property, but the Council did not refer Mr X to his new council.
15. In June 2020, Mr X moving to Dorset is mentioned again, with the intended date for Mr X’s move. However, again the Council failed to tell Mr X’s new council that he intended to move.
16. Mr X moved at the end of July 2020. Shortly after moving Mr X asked the Council who he should contact at his new council. The Council gave him the contact details and also referred Mr X to the social services team at his new council.
17. Mr X’s new council put him on the waiting list for a social care assessment, which it completed around 2 months later.
18. The Council’s records show it later sent Mr X’s new council information about his needs

My findings

19. I can only consider events in the 12 months before Mr X complained to the Ombudsman in December 2020, unless there are good reasons to consider events before this. Although Mr X told the Council he wanted to move to Dorset in 2017, the evidence shows he was finding it difficult to find a suitable property. Only from early 2020 was there suggestion Mr X’s move might actually happen. Therefore, I am not satisfied there are good reasons to consider events before the end of 2019.
20. In very early 2020, the Council was aware Mr X definitely intended to move and may have found a suitable property. However, there was still some uncertainty about Mr X’s move, so I am satisfied there was no fault in the Council’s decision not to refer Mr X to his new council at that stage.
21. However, by June 2020 at the latest, the Council was aware that Mr X was going to move soon and had approximate dates of his move. Although, by this point, Mr X had cancelled his care and support, the Council knew he had care and support needs. It had considered referring Mr X to his new council several times before, but it did not do so until after Mr X asked it to. I am satisfied this was fault.
22. After Mr X moved, he had to wait around two months for his social care assessment. Mr X’s new council would still have had to reassess Mr X, so if the Council had acted sooner, it would not have prevented this. However, had the Council referred him when it first knew of his intended move date, I am satisfied Mr X could have been added to the waiting list sooner and would not have had to wait as long for the assessment.
23. Records from Mr X’s new council show he also cancelled the care and support it arranged, shortly after this started. Therefore, the failure of the Council to refer him did not cause him to miss out on any care. It did, however, cause Mr X avoidable distress and frustration arranging and waiting for that assessment.

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Agreed action

24. Within one month of my final decision, the Council will apologise to Mr X for not referring him to his new council sooner and pay him £150 to recognise the distress and frustration caused by having to arrange and wait for a new assessment.

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Final decision

25. I have completed my investigation. There was fault in how the Council failed to refer Mr X to his new council when it knew when he would be moving. This caused Mr X avoidable distress and frustration for which the Council agreed to apologise and pay Mr X a financial remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman