Summary: Mr X complained the Council has failed to make correct direct payments for his child, C and failed to explain what he can use these for. The Council is at fault which has caused Mr X uncertainty and distress. The Council has agreed to a package or remedies which includes recalculating the direct payments and make any outstanding payments. It should also confirm in writing how it has calculated the amount and what Mr X can use the money for.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to make correct direct payments for his child, C and failed to explain what these can be used for. He would like the Council to pay the correct amounts in the future and make backdated payments for those that have been missed. He would also like written confirmation of what the direct payments can be used for and any future updates to be in writing.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Direct Payments

7. Parents/carers of disabled children can ask for a direct payment (DP) to meet the needs of the child. The council must carry out an assessment and DPs must be sufficient to meet the assessed needs. DPs must be used by the parent/carer to meet the child’s needs. DPs do not affect any benefit entitlement.
8. Persons receiving DPs must agree to DPs and keep and submit accounts.
9. Councils must review the making of direct payments: 

• at least once within the first year of the direct payments being made;
• at appropriate intervals, not exceeding twelve months, thereafter;
• where the council reasonably considers the recipient is no longer eligible for a direct payment; and 
• whenever notified the direct payment may not have been used to secure provision for services for which the payment was made or the person receiving the payment is no longer suitable. (The Community Care, Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) (England) Regulations 2009)  

10. A council may require the payment or part of the payment to be repaid where they are satisfied that the direct payment or part of the payment has not been used to secure the provision of the service to which it relates. (The Community Care, Services for Carers and Children’s Services (Direct Payments) (England) Regulations 2009)  

What happened

11. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
12. In December 2023, the Council sent the Child and Family Assessment to Mr X. This included a recommendation for direct payments to support C and the family.
13. In January 2024, the Council agreed to make direct payments for Mr X’s son. The payments were effective from this date.
14. In the middle of February, Mr X signed the direct payments agreement form.
15. In March, the Council approved the direct payment form and set up the account in April 2024. The Council made direct payments which were back paid to January.
16. Mr X complained to the Council in May 2024. He said he had not received any details in writing about direct payments for his son. He asked the Council what the hourly rate is and what he can use the payments for.
17. The Council issued a stage one response in June and a stage two response in October. The Council apologised it had calculated the payments wrong and said it would check and change this.
18. In late September, Mr X stopped receiving the payments.
19. In the middle of January 2025, Mr X telephoned the Council and said he had not received any payments since September 2024.
20. Later in January, Mr X telephoned the Council again and asked for urgent help. He said again that he had not received any payments since September 2024.
21. Mr X received a payment of around £4,000 in April 2025. This was back payment for missed direct payments since September. The Council sent Mr X a remittance advice, it did not include information about how the Council calculated the amount.
22. Mr X told me he tried to work out how the Council calculated the amount and said he thought the amount was wrong. He emailed the Council in late May who confirmed the hourly rate was wrong. The Council are recalculating the amount and will make a further back payment.
23. In conversation with Mr X, he said he is in a fortunate position as he can calculate the payments to check they are correct and has savings he can use while he is waiting for the Council to make the payments. Not everyone can do this.
24. Mr X said he has not received anything from the Council in writing about the direct payments. He has not received a tailored letter with details about the payments he receives, neither has he received a leaflet with general information. He said there is no information on the Councils website about direct payments for children’s social care.
25. Mr X said the Council has not told him what the amount should be or what the family can spend the money on. The Council wants Mr X to send receipts. He is worried he might spend the money incorrectly and have to pay it back when the Council audits the account.
26. I asked the Council for copies of correspondence with Mr X about the payments. It provided copies of the complaint correspondence and a couple of emails. It said most of the communication was verbal and not recorded.
27. The Council has advised Mr X to speak to their social worker but the family does not have a social worker. Mr X told me he calls the duty social worker but they do not know the answer to his queries and refer the matter on. C has a family support worker, but they are from a different team and do not know the answers to his questions about direct payments.

Analysis

28. The Council has already admitted that it has failed to pay some direct payments and miscalculated others, this is fault. The Council has recalculated the amount and issued a back payment to Mr X. I asked the Council if the amounts are now correct and it said it had resubmitted the correct amounts and a further overpayment will be calculated. This remedies the financial injustice to Mr X.
29. The Council ought to have told Mr X how much to expect in direct payments, how he can spend this money and confirm this in writing. This would allow Mr X to plan and budget. The Council’s failure to do so is fault. The Council’s poor communication has caused uncertainty to Mr X as he does not know if he is spending the personal budget correctly and is worried the Council might ask for the money back if he spends it incorrectly.
30. The Council provided a remittance advice with the payments but has not provided an explanation of how the figures have been calculated. I would expect the Council to include a calculation to show how it has calculated the amount or a written explanation. This would allow Mr X and other people receiving direct payments to check the payments matched what they expected. There is no way of knowing if the amount is correct. This is fault.
31. I asked the Council how it calculated the amount. It said the direct payments are a set amount per week, in and out of term time. It also said there is a standard rate but with some variations but did not explain what these variations are. It is still not clear to me how the Council has calculated the direct payments. This is fault.
32. I asked the Council for copies of correspondence with Mr X about the direct payments. It provided copies of the complaint and a couple of emails and said most of the communication had been verbal. I would expect the Council to keep written records of verbal communication. This is poor record keeping, this is fault.

Back to top

Action

33. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council agreed to:
• Explain to Mr X how the Council has calculated C’s direct payments and what he can spend these on. This should be in writing.
• Recalculate the direct payments to ensure this is correct and up-to-date. Send a copy in writing to Mr X and explain the calculations.
• If any direct payments are outstanding, pay Mr X and explain this in writing.
• Provide Mr X with a named contact of someone he can discuss direct payments and raise any queries and concerns.
• Consider how the Council can explain to families who receive direct payments how the amounts are calculated and what they can spend the direct payment on. This should include, but not be limited to, information in writing.

The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

34. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman