City of Doncaster Council (23 008 721)

Statement Not upheld Direct payments 29-Feb-2024

Summary: Mrs F complained about the Council’s decisions to put her on a managed direct payment in early 2023 and to suspend her direct payment from June 2023. She said this caused her distress, financial loss, and impacted her physical and mental health. We found no fault in the process the Council followed to audit Mrs F’s direct payment account, nor its process to suspend her payment due to her studying abroad. This was in line with its Direct Payment Policy. It was therefore entitled to reach its views.

Birmingham City Council (23 015 802)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 21-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about direct payments. That is because the complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (23 013 067)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 16-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council forcing him to accept direct payments due to his preferred care provider not being on the Council’s provider list. He says he struggled to manage the administration responsibilities. This is because an investigation would not lead to any worthwhile outcomes.

London Borough of Enfield (23 004 201)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 13-Feb-2024

Summary: The Council failed to properly consider Mrs B’s disability-related expenditure when determining how much she should contribute towards the cost of her care. It also failed to clearly explain its intentions in relation to the recovery of unpaid contributions. The Council has agreed to write-off some of the unpaid contributions and review Mrs B’s requests for items to be considered disability-related expenditure. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

West Sussex County Council (23 013 667)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 12-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about managing direct payments to meet adult social care needs. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigation.

Bristol City Council (23 002 960)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 08-Feb-2024

Summary: Ms B says the Council failed to meet her assessed needs from July 2022, failed to communicate with her about the action being taken and failed to explain the Council’s reasoning. The Council delayed dealing with a care review and in reviewing how Ms B was managing her direct payments and failed to write to her to explain the Council’s reasoning. That likely did not affect the provision of support to meet Ms B’s care needs. An apology, payment to Ms B and agreement to write to her to outline the Council’s decision is satisfactory remedy.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (23 008 570)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 06-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint regarding the Council’s failure to assess Mr X’s needs for several years or its decision to request Mr X return overpayments he received. This is because the complaint relates to events that took place more than 12 months ago and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to bring them to us at the time. Further, an investigation would be unlikely to find fault on the Council’s part.

Darlington Borough Council (23 013 340)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Direct payments 09-Jan-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s management of Mrs X’s direct payments. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to result in a different outcome for Mrs X.

Birmingham City Council (22 011 798)

Statement Not upheld Direct payments 04-Jan-2024

Summary: The Council acted in line with Care and Support Statutory Guidance. So we do not uphold Mr X’s complaint about the Council's hourly direct payment rate or about the failure to support him to manage a direct payment. We have not investigated other complaints because they were not made to us within 12 months of Mr X and Mr Y becoming aware of them or have not been made to the Council.

Durham County Council (23 003 726)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 02-Jan-2024

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to provide her with the care and support it has assessed her as needing, causing her distress and putting unreasonable pressure on her husband. The Council was at fault as: it failed to review her care and support plan to make sure her personal budget was enough to meet her needs: left her with little choice but to accept direct payments which she did not want; has failed to meet all her needs since February 2023; did not complete her June 2022 care and support plan properly; and failed to give due regard to her rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 when responding to her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay financial redress and take action to improve its services.