Summary: I uphold this complaint that the Council unreasonably denied the complainant the opportunity to escalate her complaint about its eligibility criteria for direct payments for disabled children. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by offering the complainant the opportunity to escalate her complaint to Stage 2 of the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, says the Council has declined to escalate her complaint about its eligibility criteria for direct payments for disabled children.

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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. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X has asked the Council for direct payments to enable her to provide support for her disabled son. The Council has told her it cannot agree to her request because her son’s needs do not meet its eligibility criteria.
7. Mrs X complained that the eligibility criteria are flawed. The complaint was considered at the local resolution stage. The Council declined to escalate it further on the grounds that it relates to a matter of policy.
8. If we were to investigate, it is likely we would find fault causing Mrs X injustice. Her complaint is that her request for direct payments has not been properly considered because of flawed eligibility criteria. This matter falls to be considered under the statutory procedure for complaints about children’s services. Refusing access to the procedure denies Mrs X the opportunity to resolve her complaint.

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Agreed action

9. We invited the Council to resolve the complaint by, within one month of the date of this decision, inviting Mrs X to escalate her complaint to Stage 2 of the statutory procedure, and initiating the process by appointing an investigating officer and an independent person. To its credit, the Council has agreed to do so.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman