Overview:

Key to names used

• Miss B The complainant’s mother and representative
• Mr C The complainant

Summary

Miss B complained on behalf of her son, Mr C, that the Council failed to ensure an effective transition of social work services when he turned 18. In particular, that he had to leave a children’s home placement and move to a supported living placement 30 miles away. This left him further from his family and place of education, for which the Council initially failed to provide transport. Miss B says as a result Mr C became isolated from her and missed half a term of education. Miss B says the Council knew Mr C experiences anxiety and has a history of self-harming and its actions put him at increased risk of these behaviours. Miss B says she also suffered her own distress being unable to see Mr C as often as before.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must consider the report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council, Cabinet or other appropriately delegated committee of elected members and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

Within one month of the date of this report it should:

• apologise to Mr C for his injustice, accepting the findings of this report;
• make a symbolic payment to Mr C of £1,000 to recognise the distress caused to him, acknowledging its actions put him at increased risk of harm and impacted negatively on his education;
• make a symbolic payment to Miss B of £250 to recognise the distress caused to her; and
• arrange a meeting with Miss B, Mr C and his education provider to consider if there is any additional tuition or support Mr C will now benefit from to make up for his lost education provision in 2023; if this is agreed, the Council will make that provision specifying clearly what it will consist of and for how long.

Within three months the Council should:

• ensure that it introduces a policy to triage all cases of young people aged 16 and over who are referred to its adult social care department. Where assessment for transition is required, a social worker is allocated to begin transition planning for adulthood. Where it has not allocated an adult care services social worker, the Council will have a series of trigger dates (for example at three monthly intervals) to ensure these cases are either allocated as soon as practicable or those that cannot be allocated are brought to the attention of senior managers for action;

• ensure it introduces a procedure (or reminds relevant staff of any existing procedure) for children services to escalate concerns if adult care services are not actively involved in transition planning for any young person aged 17 or over; no decisions about accommodation for a child beyond their eighteenth birthday or with significant cost implications for the Council should be taken without that involvement;

• brief all staff and managers involved in transition planning for young adults on the findings of this investigation and the changes being introduced to prevent the same problems recurring in the future; and

• review communications between its adult care services transition teams and special educational needs (SEN) services, so that social workers have a designated point of contact where they have enquiries about Education, Health and Care Plans or SEN transport. The Council should also ensure that social workers can escalate concerns to senior officers if they go unanswered.

The Council has agreed these recommendations.

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