Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to safeguard Miss Y from financial abuse, and a social worker inappropriately talked Miss Y out of appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney for her finances. Mrs X also complained Miss Y’s care provider did not provide the support detailed in her care plan. We did not find fault in the support Miss Y received from her social worker and care provider. We discontinued our investigation into how the Council safeguarded Miss Y from financial abuse.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to safeguard her sister, who I will call Miss Y, from financial abuse after Mrs X found irregularities in Miss Y’s finances while in supported living accommodation.
2. Mrs X would like to have Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Miss Y’s finances, but complained Miss Y’s social worker and the care provider talked Miss Y out of this through coercion and inaccurate information. She said the care provider blocked her attempts to instruct an Appointee to manage Miss Y’s benefits.
3. Mrs X also complained the care provider is not giving Miss Y the weekly one to one support in her care plan.
4. Mrs X said the situation caused her and her sister significant distress.

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

5. I investigated a social worker’s interactions with Miss Y about appointing a LPA. I also investigated the support Miss Y received from the care provider.
6. I discontinued my investigation into how the Council safeguarded Miss Y from financial abuse. I cannot explain my reasons for this decision because the information is confidential.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

7. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
8. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
9. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

10. As part of the investigation, I considered the complaint and the information Mrs X provided.
11. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
12. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Care Plan

13. The Care Act 2014 gives councils a legal responsibility to provide a care and support plan (or a support plan for a carer). The care and support plan should consider what needs the person has, what they want to achieve, what they can do by themselves or with existing support and what care and support may be available in the local area. When preparing a care and support plan the council must involve any carer the adult has. The support plan must include a personal budget, which is the money the council has worked out it will cost to arrange the necessary care and support for that person.

Reviews

14. Section 27 of the Care Act 2014 says councils should keep care and support plans under review. Government Care and Support Statutory Guidance says councils should review plans at least every 12 months. Councils should consider a light touch review six to eight weeks after agreeing and signing off the plan and personal budget. They should carry out reviews as quickly as is reasonably practicable in a timely manner proportionate to the needs to be met. Councils must also conduct a review if an adult or a person acting on the adult’s behalf makes a reasonable request for one.

Mental capacity assessment

15. A person aged 16 or over must be presumed to have capacity to make a decision unless it is established they lack capacity. A person should not be treated as unable to make a decision:

• because they make an unwise decision;
• based simply on: their age; their appearance; assumptions about their condition, or any aspect of their behaviour; or
• before all practicable steps to help the person to do so have been taken without success.

16. The council must assess someone’s ability to make a decision when that person’s capacity is in doubt. How it assesses capacity may vary depending on the complexity of the decision.
17. An assessment of someone’s capacity is specific to the decision to be made at a particular time. When assessing somebody’s capacity, the assessor needs to find out the following:

• Does the person have a general understanding of what decision they need to make and why they need to make it?
• Does the person have a general understanding of the likely effects of making, or not making, this decision?
• Is the person able to understand, retain, use, and weigh up the information relevant to this decision?
• Can the person communicate their decision?

18. The person assessing an individual’s capacity will usually be the person directly concerned with the individual when the decision needs to be made. More complex decisions are likely to need more formal assessments.
19. If there is a conflict about whether a person has capacity to make a decision, and all efforts to resolve this have failed, the Court of Protection might need to decide if a person has capacity to make the decision.

Safeguarding

20. A council must make enquiries if it thinks a person may be at risk of abuse or neglect and has care and support needs which mean the person cannot protect themselves. An enquiry is the action taken by a council in response to a concern about abuse or neglect. An enquiry could range from a conversation with the person who is the subject of the concern, to a more formal multi-agency arrangement. A council must also decide whether it or another person or agency should take any action to protect the person from abuse. (section 42, Care Act 2014)

What happened

21. I have summarised below some key events leading to Mrs X’s complaint. This is not intended to be a detailed account of what took place.
22. Mrs X shared concerns with the Council about Miss Y’s spending in October 2023. That was after seeing Miss Y’s bank statements. Mrs X alleged someone was financially abusing Miss Y.
23. The Council started a safeguarding enquiry and appointed an investigating social worker. The investigating social worker visited Miss Y to discuss the allegations and spoke with her care provider.
24. The Council also allocated Miss Y a social worker to assess her care and support package. They visited Miss Y on 8 November and discussed her weekly activities. The social worker recorded Miss Y felt ‘happier’ in her current home.
25. On 10 November, Mrs X told Miss Y’s social worker she wanted to become Miss Y’s LPA. She said Miss Y agreed to this. The social worker said they needed to assess Miss Y's capacity over several visits.
26. Miss Y’s social worker spoke to the care provider about Miss Y’s one-to-one support and weekly activities on 4 December. The care provider said Miss Y often did not want to go out and it was difficult to get her to leave the house. She liked going out when there was a purpose or she felt like helping, but not simply to go for a walk for example. The care provider said Miss Y did not have these one-to-one support hours in her previous home, and may be more comfortable staying indoors, so she may need encouragement to go out more. The care provider said they may put in place weekly activity plans for Miss Y.
27. Miss Y’s social worker met with Miss Y on 8 January 2024 to establish her views and wishes about her care and support, and having an outside personal assistant to take her out. The social worker recorded Miss Y was happy with the one-to-one support received, and wanted it to continue with care provider staff. She did not want an outside personal assistant.
28. The Council closed the safeguarding investigation on 11 January 2024, after receiving an explanation of Miss Y’s spending from the care provider. The Council decided there was not enough evidence to substantiate the allegations of financial abuse. It decided Miss Y’s social worker should find out what support Miss Y would like with her finances. It advised the care provider Miss Y should make purchases using a debit card, not cash, and to keep a record of her purchases.
29. Miss Y’s social worker visited her on 19 January 2024 to assess her capacity to decide whether to have a LPA. They discussed that someone would have access to Miss Y’s bank account, could claim benefits on her behalf, and could start a tenancy on a home. The social worker determined Miss Y showed capacity to understand what giving someone LPA meant, and showed understanding of the potential risks. They gave Miss Y an easy read guide explaining LPA and agreed to return to discuss the issues again.
30. Miss Y’s social worker visited her again on 25 January 2024 as part of the mental capacity assessment. Miss Y had read the easy read guide with her carer, and wanted her siblings to have LPA. The social worker again asked Miss Y what LPA meant and about the risks discussed previously. They noted Miss Y could not remember without being prompted, but they considered she retained some of the relevant information on what a LPA can do and understood the fundamentals, but she may need additional support to decide.
31. On 30 January, Miss Y’s social worker told Mrs X they were satisfied Miss Y had capacity to decide whether to give someone LPA. It was now up to Miss Y to decide.
32. Miss Y’s social worker visited her on 1 February 2024 to discuss her decision to grant her siblings LPA. However, Miss Y had changed her mind, and did not want to grant LPA at that time. She wanted to have control of her own money. The social worker considered Miss Y understood granting LPA could mean giving up some control of her finances, and she wanted to be independent with this.
33. Miss Y’s social worker told Mrs X that Miss Y wanted to manage her own money and did not want to grant LPA at present.
34. Mrs X complained to the Council as she remained concerned about Miss Y’s finances. She wanted a breakdown of Miss Y’s weekly spending to understand what her money covered. But the care provider refused to give details, and the Council would not help. She said Miss Y’s bank statements show purchases for items she does not have.
35. Mrs X said Miss Y gave her permission for LPA. Mrs X asked the Council to support her to set this up.
36. Mrs X also raised concerns about Miss Y not going out enough and not receiving all the one-to-one support she is entitled to.
37. The Council said, although it closed the safeguarding enquiry, it will continue to monitor things. It said Miss Y’s social worker visited her several times to assess her capacity to grant LPA. However, Miss Y later decided against this. As Mrs X does not have LPA, the Council cannot share more information with her. Though Miss Y said she will let Mrs X see her bank statements.
38. The Council said Miss Y is entitled to 8.5 hours one-to-one support, which she can use flexibly as she chooses. The social worker asked the care provider to devise a weekly planner which Miss Y can share with Mrs X.
39. Miss Y’s social worker visited Miss Y on 3 April 2024 to assess her care and support. They recorded Miss Y is very happy where she lived and enjoyed disco dancing and attending dance group. She also enjoyed arts and crafts, knitting, shopping, gardening, and baking with support staff.

Analysis

40. I discontinued my investigation into the way the Council safeguarded Miss Y from financial abuse. I therefore did not make any findings on this.
41. I did not find fault in Miss Y’s social worker’s interactions with her. The records show they sought to explain LPA to Miss Y and gauge her understanding. They were satisfied Miss Y understood enough to know she wanted to manage her own money, and did not want to grant LPA at present. That is a professional judgement decision the social worker was entitled to make after following the correct decision-making process.
42. I did not see evidence to support Mrs X’s allegation the social worker coerced Miss Y or talked her out of granting LPA.
43. I do not have enough evidence to support Mrs X’s allegation the care provider persuaded Miss Y not to grant LPA. However, I did not see evidence the care provider acted inappropriately or against Miss Y’s wishes and best interests in this regard. Ultimately, the Council assessed Miss Y as having capacity to decide whether to grant LPA. It is therefore her decision to make.
44. I found Miss Y was happy with the one-to-one support from the care provider, and happy with the activities she had. The care provider reported Miss Y sometimes did not want to go out or do physical activities. Miss Y has capacity, so that is her choice. While Miss Y may not receive as much one-to-one support as her budget allows, I have not seen evidence the care provider is failing to support Miss Y or meet the needs outlined in her care and support plan.

Back to top

Final decision

45. I completed my investigation into the support Miss Y received from her social worker and care provider. I did not find fault in their actions. I discontinued my investigation into how the Council safeguarded Miss Y from financial abuse.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman