Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his son’s new placement. Mr X said the Council did not get his agreement to the new placement. Mr X also complains his son’s new social worker has not contacted him. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to update Mr X on his son’s new placement. We do not find fault with the Council’s other actions. The Council has agreed to apologise.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council did not consult with him regarding his son’s new placement and did not consider his circumstances when they chose the new placement. Mr X said he was told all parties would agree on the new placement before his son was moved. Mr X said he did not agree to the new placement, but his son was moved anyway. He also complains his son’s new social worker has not contacted him.

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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. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke with Mr X and considered the information he provided.
6. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided.
7. I sent a draft decision to Mr X and the Council and considered their comments.

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What I found

8. Mr X’s son, Mr R, has autism and is in care.
9. In March 2018, the Council completed a child in care review. Mr X was present for this meeting. The Council noted it was searching for a suitable long-term placement as Mr R could only stay in his current placement until June 2018, when he turned 18. Mr X said the Council told him they would not fund the placement because it was multi occupancy and his son needed a residence for a single person.
10. In April 2018, the Council told Mr X it was still searching for a different placement for Mr R. The Council noted Mr R would remain where he was until a new placement was found and agreed by all parties.
11. In June 2018, the Council told Mr X it had responses from three placements. Mr X said he did not think two were suitable but the third was suitable if the placement was in Essex.
12. The Council also completed another child in care review. Mr X was present for this meeting. The records noted an adult placement still needed to be found. The Council said it told Mr X during this meeting it was difficult to find an appropriate placement for Mr R due to his extremely challenging behaviour.
13. The Council said it approached nine different providers. All but one declined due to concerns around managing Mr R’s behaviours.
14. At the end of June 2018, the Council found a new placement for Mr R. Mr X said he was told by Mr R’s placement when Mr R would be moving. Mr X said he tried to contact social services for two days before the move to try and find out what was happening.
15. On the day of the move, the Council tried to call Mr X to update him on the move but said Mr X did not answer. The Council attempted to contact Mr X again the following two days. Each time the Council said it left a message for Mr X to contact the office.
16. Mr X said the Council did not update him or give him a moving date until two days after Mr R had already moved. The Council accepts Mr X was not given the address of the new placement before the move.
17. The Council explained it had considered the proximity to the family when searching for a new placement. The Council said its priority was on the suitability of the placement for Mr R and the placement’s ability to meet his needs. The Council said it had not been possible to identify a suitable placement nearer to Mr X. The Council said it offered Mr X travel warrants to enable contact with Mr R.
18. Mr X said it was not the cost of the travel that was the issue, but the time it takes to travel to the placement as he can only take public transport. Mr X also said the Council did not tell him what the travel warrants would cover and how many would be available.
19. The Council said the social worker from adult social care tried to call Mr X several times, without success. The Council said Mr X had not returned any of the calls or contacted adult social care since the transfer in August 2018. Mr X said he did not receive any messages or emails from the new social worker. Mr X said he has not been able to contact the new social worker as he has not been provided with any contact details.

Analysis

20. It is clear from the evidence Mr X knew Mr R would need to move to a new placement at the end of June 2018, as the issue was discussed at the March 2018 review meeting. It is also clear that the Council had told Mr X Mr R would not move until the new placement had been agreed by all parties.
21. The Council explained that while it did consider Mr X’s circumstances, its priority was to find a suitable placement that could meet Mr R’s needs. The evidence suggests it had been particularly difficult for the Council to find a suitable placement for Mr R, due to his challenging behaviours. This is because the Council approached nine different placements and all but one declined due to Mr R’s behaviour.
22. Therefore, the evidence suggests the Council chose Mr R’s placement because it was the nearest suitable placement that could manage his challenging behaviours.
23. Further, the Council has also demonstrated it had considered that the new placement was some distance from Mr X. It has offered Mr X travel warrants to allow him to travel to visit Mr R at no cost to him. This was appropriate in the circumstances.
24. I recognise Mr X has said the issue is with regards to travel time and that he is unable to take the journey due to his other caring commitments. I also acknowledge this has been very difficult for Mr X as he has been unable to visit Mr R since he moved. However, the evidence suggests the placement found was the nearest suitable placement that could meet Mr R’s needs. Therefore, I cannot find fault with the Council’s actions.
25. While it is clear the Council had said Mr R would not move until all parties had agreed on the new placement, I do not find fault with the Council for not getting Mr X’s agreement. This is because of the reasons outlined above. It would have been helpful for all parties to agree but ultimately, it is Mr R’s needs that are the priority. The Council was correct to be mindful of this. Therefore, I do not find fault with the Council for not getting Mr X’s agreement to the new placement.
26. However, the Council failed to update Mr X on the new placement prior to the move. The evidence shows the Council had told Mr X, in June, it had responses from three placements. None of these providers ended up being the final placement. There is no evidence the Council contacted Mr X to let him know once it had chosen the new placement. Mr X has stated he did not know where the new placement was until after Mr R had moved. This is fault.
27. I find the fault identified caused Mr X an injustice. This is because as Mr R’s father, Mr X was entitled to know where his son’s new placement was. Not having this information would have been distressing for Mr X.
28. The Council did attempt to contact Mr X on the day Mr R moved. This action was appropriate in the circumstances as I would expect the Council to contact Mr X to let him know how the move went.
29. Finally, Mr X said Mr R’s new social worker has not contacted him. The Council said it has tried to contact Mr X several times but have been unsuccessful. The Council also said Mr X had not tried to contact the Council to speak with the social worker.
30. However, it appears Mr X did not receive any messages from the Council and was not aware the social worker had tried to get in contact. Mr X said he could not call the social worker because he did not have any contact details.
31. I do not find fault with the Council as it has tried to contact Mr X. However, given Mr X said he has not received any messages, it would be useful for the Council to contact Mr X by email to provide the social worker’s contact details.

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Agreed action

32. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X for not updating him on the new placement before the move.
33. The Council should complete the above remedy within four weeks.

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Final decision

34. I find fault with the Council for failing to update Mr X on Mr R’s new placement prior to the move. I do not find fault with the Council’s decision on Mr R’s new placement or for failing to obtain Mr X’s agreement to the new placement. The Council has accepted my recommendations. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman