Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of Miss X’s direct payment request. The Council upheld her complaint and provided a suitable remedy. We cannot achieve the additional remedies Miss X is seeking. Therefore, it is unlikely our investigation would lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to properly carry out a care needs assessment when she asked for direct payments as part of her son’s Education, Health and Care needs assessment (EHCNA). Further she says the Council provided her with false information to justify declining her request.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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. In spring 2023 the Council began its EHCNA for Miss X’s son. During this time, she asked the Council for direct payments. The Council carried out a care needs assessments for her son and daughter. The assessment decided both children would benefit from direct payments.
7. The Council put the case before its panel on several occasions to consider the assessment and whether to award direct payments. The panel rejected the request. Miss X objected to the reasons she was given for the rejections as she did not feel they were in line with the guidance available and the Council’s policies.
8. Miss X complained to the Council, it accepted the panel had asked for information it didn’t need when considering whether her children would be given direct payments. It offered to resolve the complaint by carrying out a new assessment and decision on her direct payment request. Miss X has not accepted this offer.
9. We will not investigate this complaint because our investigation would not lead to a different outcome. The Council upheld her complaint and offered to carry out a new assessment and decision. Miss X remains unhappy as she feels an investigation should be carried out into individual employees and they should be held accountable. We cannot achieve this additional outcome Miss X is seeking as we do not investigate personnel issues.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because our investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman