LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed considering a complaint at stage three of the children’s statutory complaints procedure. The Council has now agreed to resolve the complaint by arranging a stage three panel without further delay. It will also apologise to the complainant for not doing so sooner.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to properly safeguard his son after he reported concerns to it and has treated him differently to Ms Z based on his gender. We do not find the Council at fault.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled a safeguarding alert he raised about his sister’s appointee and the Council actions over his application to become his sister’s deputy. We do not consider Mr X to be a suitable representative for his sister.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that her car was damaged due to the Council’s failure to repair a pothole. This is because it is reasonable for Miss B to pursue her claim at court. An investigation solely into the Council’s delay deciding the claim is not justified.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a Council roadworks contractor causing him to drive into a hedge, the Council blaming him for the incident, and how it dealt with his complaint. There is neither sufficient evidence of fault nor sufficient significant personal injustice to justify us investigating. It would be reasonable for Mr X to pursue any claim of damage to his car through the Council’s insurers and the courts if required. We do not investigate council correspondence and complaint-handling where we are not investigating the core issues which gave rise to the complain

Summary: There was a seven-month delay issuing Y’s final Education, Health and Care Plan and a failure to review Y’s alternative provision between May 2022 and March 2023 to include provision for his social and emotional needs which caused a loss of special educational provision and alternative provision. Communication with Ms X and complaint handling was poor. The fault caused Ms X avoidable frustration, time and trouble, distress and a delay in appeal rights. The Council will apologise and make payments.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about failures in adult social care support when Ms C left hospital. The complainant has known about the issues for more than twelve months, and there is no good reason she could not have complained to the Ombudsman sooner.

Summary: Mr K complains about the lack of annual reviews of his son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. And that the Council did not ensure the provision was in place in a period after his son’s placement broke down. We uphold the complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommended remedy for missed provision for the year before Mr K complained to the Ombudsman.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a misleading traffic sign as Mr X could have addressed this via an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal

Summary: Mrs X complained about the process of reviewing Ms Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan and about delays in securing the named provision. We find the Council at fault for missing statutory deadlines and for delays in securing provision. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise the injustice caused by the fault.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault.

Summary: A care home, owned by the Council, failed to take appropriate action to manage the falls risk for Mrs Y, despite her vulnerability.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council’s decision not to consider her complaint because she does not have parental responsibility for the children involved.

Summary: the Council failed to act promptly to ensure Mrs X’s son D received an early referral for NHS funding of his needs. As a result there was a delay of nine months between the review meeting which agreed his needs and the funding being made available, while Mrs X continued to pay for his support. The Council will explain how it has reviewed its processes since then, apologise to Mrs X and offer a sum which recognises the distress caused to her and to D over that time.

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to amend her son, Y’s, Education Health and Care Plan within statutory timescales, to provide a personal budget and appropriate education for him between December 2022 and September 2023. We find there was a delay in issuing an amended Plan following an annual review and failure to provide the provision in Y’s Education Health and Care Plan. The Council has agreed to apologise and make financial payments to remedy the injustice caused to Y and Mrs X.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that she had a car accident due to the poor condition of a Council road. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to approach the court with her claim.

Summary: Mr B complains about the Council’s delayed assessment of his son’s needs when he moved from children to adult care services. Mr B also complains the assessment itself did not involve them. And the Council tried to force him to take a direct payment. The Council also delayed responding to his complaint. Our decision is there was fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to our recommendations for remedies it should make.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to not reimburse the complainant for alleged overpayments his family made in meeting his late mother’s care needs. This is because the complaint concerns historical events since 2010 and is therefore late. The passage of time means there is no realistic prospect of us reaching a sound, fair, and meaningful decision.

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to maintain her daughter, Y’s, Education Health and Care plan. We found evidence of fault by the Council because it failed to provide Y with the provision in her Education Health and Care plan, failed to review the plan in accordance with statutory timescales or in response to a change in Y’s circumstances and did not communicate with Mrs X. The Council agreed to apologise and make payments in recognition of the injustice caused to Mrs X and Y.

Summary: Miss X complained the Council had not secured all the special educational or social care provision in her child, B’s, Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council was at fault, which meant B missed out on provision they were entitled to. This caused Miss X distress, frustration and uncertainty. To remedy their injustice, the Council will apologise and pay Miss X a total of £5000. To prevent similar fault in future, the Council will issue a staff reminder and identify if flaws in its practice led to some of the fault. The Council will also apologise to the people who have been waiting

Council’s decision to refuse Miss X’s application for free school transport for her daughter.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in financial assessment and delays in invoicing for adult social care. The Council accepts fault, has apologised, offered to pay £100, and offered a repayment plan for the debt if needed. We are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken to acknowledge the impact of its fault. It is unlikely an Ombudsman investigation would achieve anything further.

Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about a care provider’s actions, including alleged poor record-keeping and communication. There is not a good reason for the delay in the matter being brought to the Ombudsman.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to act on a referral to its Autism Inclusion Team in 2022. This is because there is not enough evidence to show the Council received the email or, therefore, that it was at fault for failing to act on it.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s mother’s death. That is because the complaint is late.