Summary

A family complains that the council did not provide them with the support they needed for their young son, who had autism.

The complaint

The family said they were without support from 2009 to 2011. The support they were offered was too little, too late. A residential home the council placed the boy in was unsuitable and the family had to threaten the council with legal action before it placed the boy in a residential school. The council then delayed responding to the family's complaint.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice cause, the council has agreed to:

• apologise to the family, for the faults we have identified;
• refund their legal costs (£2,200), including the Legal Aid Statutory Charge (£5,400);
• pay the family £12,000 to recognise the significant distress suffered by the family as a result of the council’s faults set out in this report; and
• pay them an additional £1,000 for their time and trouble pursuing their complaint and the additional distress this caused.

Ombudsman satisfied with council's response: 11 October 2017

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