Summary: We find that the Council failed to take the action it agreed to take following a previous complaint we investigated, which was to backdate the financial support it decided Mrs X needed to support her in her caring role. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mrs X to recognise that she did not receive financial support before January 2025, and to acknowledge the distress and avoidable time and trouble she experienced pursuing her complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council has not provided any financial support in relation to her caring role for her younger two children for the period January 2024 to January 2025 and has therefore failed to take the action it agreed to take to settle her previous complaint.
2. Mrs X says the failure to provide sufficient support with her caring role significantly affected her wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
5. 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(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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What I found

Law and guidance

8. A parent who is caring for a disabled child has the right to ask a council for a parent carer needs assessment of their own need for support. The assessment must consider a number of factors including:

• whether the parent carer of a disabled child needs support and, if so, what that support might be.
• the parent carer’s wellbeing. This includes considering the impact on the parent carer’s social and economic wellbeing and ability to work.

9. Following the assessment, the council must decide whether the parent carer has support needs and how the council is going to meet those needs. (Section 17ZD of the Children Act 1989)

What happened

10. Mrs X cares for her three children, all of whom have disabilities.
11. Mrs X complained to us previously that the Council had failed to provide sufficient support after completing a Parent Carer Needs Assessment (PCNA) in October 2023. Adult Social Care provided a one-off direct payment to Mrs X to support her with caring for her eldest child, A, who was over 18 at the time. However, Children's Services did not provide any financial support with caring for her younger children, B and C.
12. We found that the Council had failed to properly consider Mrs X’s circumstances and had fettered its discretion when refusing to provide financial support to meet her eligible outcomes in relation to caring for B and C.
13. To remedy the injustice caused, we recommended the Council reconsider what support it could offer Mrs X to meet her eligible outcomes. We also said that if the Council decided those needs should be met through a personal budget, it should backdate this to the date of the assessment. The Council agreed to take these actions.
14. The Council then carried out a joint assessment of Mrs X’s needs and decided to make a payment of £2389 to support her to care for all three children. It related to the period January 2025 to January 2026.
15. Mrs X complains that the Council did not backdate the financial support to the date of the assessment, as agreed, and she has therefore not received any financial support in relation to her caring role for B and C for the period October 2023 to January 2025.

Analysis

16. Mrs X received a payment of £467.88 to support her with caring for A between January 2024 and January 2025. She then received a payment of £2389 for all three children for the period January 2025 to January 2026. She has not received any financial support in relation to caring for the younger two children for the period between the assessment in October 2023 and January 2025.
17. The Council agreed that if it was decided to provide financial support in relation to caring for B and C, it would be backdated to the date of the assessment, October 2023. It did not do so. This was fault.
18. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it could not backdate the personal budget because it was based on Mrs X’s needs in 2025. However, it has agreed to make additional payments to Mrs X based on the payment of £467.88 it previously made to support her with caring for A for the 12-month period from January 2024 to January 2025. It has now agreed to make two payments of £584.85 for the 15-month period between October 2023 and January 2025 when she did not receive any financial support in relation to her caring role for B and C.
19. The Council has also agreed to pay £500 to recognise the distress Mrs X experienced and the avoidable time and trouble she was put to in pursuing her complaint.
20. Given the circumstances, I consider these payments appropriately recognise the injustice caused by the Council’s failure to provide support during the earlier period.

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Action

21. The Council has agreed to make the following payments to Mrs X within four weeks of my final decision:
• £584.85 to recognise that financial support was not provided to support her with caring for B between October 2023 and January 2025;
• £584.85 to recognise that financial support was not provided to support her with caring for C between October 2023 and January 2025; and
• £500 to recognise the distress caused and the avoidable time and trouble she experienced pursuing her complaint.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

23. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mrs X’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman