LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a person’s adult social care needs. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council completed its assessments to justify the Ombudsman investigating.

Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council failed to provide all the provision set out in her child’s education, health and care plan, and that the school was inappropriate for her child. Mrs X said this caused unnecessary and avoidable distress, and had an impact on her child. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because both parts of the complaint are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with her concerns about a lack of accessibility in parks and on the public highways. This is because there is insufficient evidence that the complainant has suffered a significant personal injustice.

Summary: Miss C complained about the conclusions the Council reached in respect of her complaint about the lack of support and other failings by the Council when she looked after her grandchildren. We found the Council delayed in considering the complaint through the statutory complaints procedure but consider it has recognised the delay and offered a reasonable payment to remedy the fault. We have not found any further fault and so we have not re-investigated the substantive issues.

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to properly explain Section 20 of the Children Act and ignored her request to cease accommodating the children under Section 20 of the Act. We found there was no fault by the Council.

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council reduced her mother, Mrs Y’s, direct payment after earlier agreeing a higher amount. This was after Mrs X had already sourced a care provider that was providing care to Mrs Y. The care provider’s charges were more than the new direct payment amount, so the Council said a top-up fee would apply. We found the Council was at fault for failing to perform due diligence setting up a direct payment agreement. However, the Council does not have a duty to pay a privately sourced care provider’s full costs where it can meet a person’s needs more cost effectively. The

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to conduct a review of the suitability of her temporary accommodation. There was fault by the Council. There was a significant delay in considering her review request, which related to difficulties she had through disability. The Council also failed to properly take account of its Equality Act duties as a result. We recommended an apology, a payment and assistance with rent arrears which were partly incurred due to the delay.

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to award her the correct priority under its housing allocations scheme and delayed dealing with her homelessness. The Council was at fault as it failed to consider whether it owed her the relief duty and to offer interim accommodation, delayed reviewing her banding request and delayed determining her housing priority. This caused her uncertainty and distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment and review its procedures. It has already provided guidance to staff.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that her car was damaged after hitting a pothole which the Council had failed to repair. This is because it is reasonable for Mrs B to pursue her compensation claim at court.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not accepting a complaint about changes in the use of the Waste and Recycling Centre. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant would like.

Summary: Mr Y complains about the actions of the local health visiting service in relation to his young child. The Ombudsman will not investigate complaints where the matters complained about are not separable from court proceedings. Based on the information available to us, the matters Mr Y complains about appear to be related to those currently being considered at the Family Court. We have therefore ended our investigation.

Summary: The evidence shows the Council based its calculation of the late Mrs X’s personal budget on a comparison with the cost of a residential care placement, which would not have met Mrs X’s needs. This also led to a care home contacting Mrs X about an assessment which caused considerable distress. There was a delay in setting up the Direct Payments. The Council agrees to apologise for its shortcomings here and make a payment which reflects what the actual personal budget should have been.

Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about information provided by the Council to a third party used in court. This is because the matter is subject to legal proceedings. And the accuracy of the information is a matter better addressed by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council failed to complete an Education, Health and Care needs assessment and issue a final Education, Health and Care Plan for her child, X, within the statutory timeframe. Mrs B says this has impacted X’s mental health and limited the support they receive at college. We have found the Council at fault. The Council will pay Mrs B a financial remedy, complete further assessments and update X’s Education, Health and Care Plan to include social care information.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice and indirect racism. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the complainant could have followed the statutory process.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about alleged fault in the content of a draft policy document. This is because the Council has made a reasonable response to the matter our intervention would not lead to a different outcome.

Summary: Mr D complains that due to faults by the Council he missed out on an offer of accommodation. There was fault by the Council. It has agreed an improved remedy.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s application for a lawful development certificate and its decision to refuse the complainant’s request for a refund of the application fee he paid. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to pay for Mr Y to live in a care home. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault with the Council’s actions to warrant an ombudsman investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about a garden waste missed collection. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Summary: There was fault in how the Council responded to reports Mr X made relating to faulty streetlights in his area. There was also fault in the complaint handling about this matter. These faults caused Mr X an injustice because of avoidable inconvenience. However, the Council have already taken adequate steps to remedy Mr X’s injustice before our involvement.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. We will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable for Mr X to request a statutory review of his housing application.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council gave the complainant a 180 litre bin. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate Dr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her council tax arrears. She says the Council breached national guidelines and protocols during its recovery action. This is because an investigation would not lead to any different findings or worthwhile outcomes.