Decisions for Essex County Council between 01 April 2020 and 31 March 2021


There are 43 results (please note that to maintain confidentiality, we do not publish all our decisions)

  • Essex County Council (19 006 517)

    Statement Upheld Child protection 16-Apr-2020

    Summary: Ms F complains about the way the Council handled safeguarding allegations relating to her children. There was fault in the way meetings were arranged. The Council has already apologised for this which remedies the injustice caused. The Ombudsman has found no fault in the rest of the complaint.

  • Essex County Council (19 008 038)

    Statement Upheld Residential care 26-May-2020

    Summary: Ms X complains about the care her late mother received at a care home, leaving her mother with injuries. She also complains about how the Council carried out a safeguarding enquiry following this incident. The Ombudsman finds fault with the care Mrs Y received at the Care Home and the way the Council carried out its safeguarding enquiry. The Ombudsman has made recommendations to remedy the injustice caused which the Council has agreed to.

  • Essex County Council (19 004 627)

    Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 27-May-2020

    Summary: The Council did not respond properly to Mr Y’s complaint about the care plan of his son, Mr X. It has not reinstated Mr X’s disability-related expenses to the relevant date. It now apologises for its shortcomings and agrees to reinstate expenses as appropriate.

  • Essex County Council (19 005 524)

    Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 29-May-2020

    Summary: Ms X complains the Council did not explain Mr Y would have to pay towards his care and did not calculate his charge properly. Mr Y cancelled his care when he found out as he could not afford to pay for it. The Ombudsman finds the Council was at fault because it did not provide adequate information or respond effectively to Mr Y’s concerns. It caused Mr Y significant, undue distress. It will apologise, pay Mr Y £200, and provide a written explanation of the financial assessments and Mr Y’s options. It will also tell Mr Y where he can get suitable financial advice, discuss his disability related expenditure and backdate any allowance where appropriate.

  • Essex County Council (19 013 464)

    Statement Upheld School transport 22-Jun-2020

    Summary: Miss B complains about the Council’s decision not to provide her daughter, C, with school transport. Miss B says she had to take C out of school because she could not afford to pay for her to get to school. Following the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council recognised it had made errors and proposed to take action to remedy any injustice caused to Miss B and her daughter. The Council completed these actions during the investigation. The Ombudsman is satisfied these actions remedied any injustice caused.

  • Essex County Council (19 007 881)

    Statement Upheld School transport 23-Jun-2020

    Summary: Mrs C complains that the Council was wrong to refuse her daughter D, transport to the secondary school at which she was offered a place for September 2019. The Council gave some misleading reasons for refusing transport. That was fault, and the Council has agreed to provide further training for officers. However, the decision to refuse transport is in line with the Council’s policy and so it is not for the Ombudsman to question the merits of that decision.

  • Essex County Council (18 014 284)

    Statement Upheld Charging 26-Jun-2020

    Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s assessment of her relative, Ms Y’s, financial contribution to her care costs. She also said the Council had sent Ms Y a bill for historic care costs which it had previously withdrawn, and about poor complaint handling. There was no fault in how the Council calculated Ms Y’s assessed contribution. There was fault in its invoicing and communication, which caused
    Ms Y uncertainty for 12 months about what she had to pay. The backdated invoice sent after the Council identified the fault has caused Ms Y financial hardship and distress. There was also fault in its complaint handling. The Council should write off the historic debt between April 2017 and March 2018 and review its complaint and invoicing procedures.

  • Essex County Council (19 004 000)

    Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 29-Jun-2020

    Summary: Mr C complained to us about the home care the Council arranged for his mother between June 2018 and September 2018, and the way in which the care provider and the Council dealt with his concerns. The Ombudsman found fault, which the Council has agreed to apologise for. The Council will also share the lessons learned with relevant staff and ensure that all homecare providers it uses have a system in place to record the time a care worker arrives for a visit to a client and the time they leave.

  • Essex County Council (19 007 663)

    Statement Upheld Charging 29-Jun-2020

    Summary: Mrs Y’s legal deputy complained on behalf of her estate that the Council failed to include various costs that should have been Disability Related Expenditure in a financial assessment. The Council also took too long to respond to the representative and failed to adequately explain its decision. To remedy this, the Council has agreed to pay £208 for avoidable additional costs and to include the cost of lift maintenance as disability related expenditure.

  • Essex County Council (19 005 954)

    Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 01-Jul-2020

    Summary: The Ombudsmen found fault by the Council with regards to the care and support provided to a young woman with complex care needs. This fault meant the woman went without care for two years and caused both her and her mother significant distress. The Council has agreed to waive the outstanding care fees and pay an additional sum in recognition of the distress this caused for the woman and her mother.

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