Durham County Council (23 003 471)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 07-Apr-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care arranged by the Council. This is because the Council has accepted fault, reduced the charges for the care, and apologised and offered a payment to the complainant. It is unlikely we could achieve anything further. The complainant would like all information held about the person who received the care. The Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider access to information rights.

Durham County Council (23 011 112)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 03-Jun-2024

Summary: Miss X complained the Council delayed completing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and issuing a final EHC Plan for her child, Y. Miss X said this meant Y lost out on education and support and the matter caused her distress. There were some faults by the Council with how it dealt with Y’s EHC Plan process. This caused injustice to Miss X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

Durham County Council (23 015 971)

Statement Upheld Charging 06-Jun-2024

Summary: Mr X complained on behalf of Mr and Mrs Y. Mr X complained about the way the Council dealt with Mrs Y’s care charges. He also complained communication from the Council was poor. Mr X said the matter impacted Mr Y’s health and finances. There was fault in the way the Council did not follow policy consistently and communication was poor. The Council has taken appropriate action to remedy any injustice caused by this fault.

Durham County Council (23 019 438)

Statement Upheld Charging 09-Oct-2024

Summary: Mr C complains about the Council’s care charges and increases in care to his brother. The Council is at fault for making changes to a support plan without clarifying the services provided, and providing wrong and delayed invoices. These faults have caused frustration, time, and trouble. To remedy the complaint the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr C, make him a symbolic payment, and provide a detailed amended invoice. It will also make service improvements.

Durham County Council (23 015 863)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 11-Nov-2024

Summary: We upheld Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide suitable educational provision for Y between April and July 2023. The Council will apologise and make a payment of £1500 to reflect this.

Durham County Council (24 007 979)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 13-Jan-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s actions when carrying out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her child. Mrs X said this meant her child had to wait longer than they should for an Education, Health and Care Plan. We found the Council at fault for the time taken to carry out the Education, Health and Care needs assessment. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mrs X for the distress caused and carry out service improvements.

Durham County Council (24 001 522)

Statement Upheld Other 15-Jan-2025

Summary: Mr X complained he was incorrectly discharged from Section 117 aftercare. We found the Trust, the Council and the ICB did not follow the relevant guidance when discharging Mr X from Section 117 aftercare. This caused uncertainty to Mr X over whether he should have received additional mental health support in the period that followed, and whether this may have prevented his health from deteriorating. The Trust, Council and ICB agreed to provide a remedy to Mr X by reassessing his Section 117 needs, and making service improvements.

Durham County Council (24 007 054)

Statement Upheld Charging 10-Feb-2025

Summary: Mrs F complained about the Council’s actions in respect of the payment of fees for care in a residential care home for her father (Mr G). We found the Council failed to keep Mrs F informed of its actions and gave inaccurate information in its initial response. The Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment of £400 to Mrs F and to improve its procedures for the future.

Durham County Council (24 008 210)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 12-Mar-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure her child D, a young adult with disabilities, received suitable education and support for their special educational needs. There was fault by the Council which caused D to miss special educational needs support. It also caused distress to D and Mrs X. The Council agreed to apologise and pay a financial remedy. It will also review why it delayed in completing an Education, Health, and Care needs assessment in D’s case and produce an action plan to prevent recurrence of the same fault.

Durham County Council (24 008 842)

Statement Upheld Enforcement 21-Mar-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council failed follow its own procedure when dealing with her reports of breaches of planning regulations which she said affected the value of her property and caused frustration. We find the Council at fault for significant delays in deciding whether to initiate enforcement action and not taking corrective action when it said it would. We find this caused Mrs X injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment, and decide whether it will take enforcement action.