Summary: Rykneld Homes, on behalf of the Council, delayed progressing disabled adaptation works to Mrs X’s kitchen. There was no fault in the decision not to approve works to Mrs X’s bathroom. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mrs X, and act to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained that the Council’s Adaptations Panel refused her request to have the wall between her bathroom and toilet removed.
2. She also complained that the Council agreed to move her oven into new housing at an accessible height but has then provided conflicting information about the extent of works necessary to do this and has delayed starting the works.
3. As a result, Mrs X says she cannot access and safely use necessary facilities in her home because of her disabilities.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. When considering complaints, if there is a conflict of evidence, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
6. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
7. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered the complaint and the information Ms X provided.
9. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
10. Ms X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Rykneld Homes

11. Mrs X’s property is owned by the Council. The Council contracts out management, including adaptations, of its properties to Rykneld Homes (RH). Rykneld Homes is, therefore, acting on behalf of the Council in providing adaptations to Disabled tenants.

RH’s adaptations policy

12. For significant adaptations, RH requires tenants to be assessed by an OT (Occupational Therapist) from the County Council’s adult social care service.
13. The OT makes a referral to a joint adaptations panel made up of officers from RH, on behalf of the Council, and the County Council, which decides whether to approve the works.

What happened

14. Mrs X is a social housing tenant. She has health conditions which affect her mobility.
15. In October 2022, Mrs X sought a referral to an OT to consider adaptations to her home. She wanted RH to remove the wall between the wet room and her toilet. She also sought adaptations to her kitchen to make the oven more accessible to her.
16. An OT visited Mrs X in November and completed a referral to the adaptations panel. This said removing the wall in the bathroom was not necessary to meet Mrs X’s needs. It did recommend moving the oven into a new housing at eye level.
17. The panel wrote to Mrs X in January 2023 to say it needed more information about the feasibility of the works to her kitchen.
18. RH visited Mrs X in February with a contractor to get a quote for the supply and fit of a new oven housing unit.
19. RH’s record of this visit said it would supply and fit the oven housing and set up the electrics but would not then install the oven. Mrs X says at this visit, RH agreed that the radiator in her kitchen would need to be replaced for the new oven housing to fit.
20. The adaptations panel met in March. It wrote to Mrs X to confirm the result of the meeting. It agreed to the proposed works to her kitchen but declined her request to remove the wall in the bathroom.
21. In June 2023, RH told Mrs X it had referred the work on her kitchen to its Property Services Team. It explained the supplier would contact her to arrange delivery of the new unit. RH would then arrange a date to install the unit and fit a new socket for the oven.
22. RH arranged for the works to Mrs X’s kitchen to take place in August. However, Mrs X said she did not want to continue until RH confirmed the extent of the works. RH offered to arrange a visit to her home with the necessary officers to discuss the works.
23. This visit took place in September. RH wrote to Mrs X the same day to confirm what was agreed. The agreed works included replacing the radiator and moving one of Mrs X’s existing cupboards next to the new oven housing. RH would insert drawers Mrs X already had into the space the oven previously occupied.

My findings

Bathroom

24. The referral from the OT said removing the wall between the wet room and toilet was not necessary to meet Mrs X’s needs. The adaptations panel considered this and Mrs X’s reasons for seeking the works before deciding not to approve it. There is no fault in how RH, on behalf of the Council, made this decision. I cannot, therefore, question the outcome.

Kitchen

25. The panel agreed the works to Mrs X’s kitchen in March 2023. RH did not send the case to its Property Services Team until June and was not ready to start the works until August. I have seen no evidence to explain this delay. Absent any such evidence, this delay of five months was fault. As a result, Mrs X could not access an oven safely. This is an injustice to Mrs X.
26. There is a conflict of evidence between Mrs X and RH, on behalf of the Council, about the extent of the works originally agreed to her kitchen. Mrs X says contractors visited several times and everyone told her something different. She said contractors told her the new oven housing would not fit unless the radiator was replaced.
27. The record of RH’s visit in February 2023 said the works would not extend to installing Mrs X’s oven, only the housing for it. This appears to have changed at some point before August 2023, when the works included fitting the oven, but there is no record of the reason for this. I cannot, therefore, safely conclude that RH’s written records are a complete account of its decisions.
28. I asked the Council to provide me copies of any drawings or plans and a schedule of the works to Mrs X’s kitchen. It has not provided any drawings or plans or a schedule showing the extent of the works approved. Given that the agreed works would ultimately include moving the radiator, I find it likely this was a necessary part of the works.
29. The Council should have recorded the extent of the agreed works and any additional works necessary to achieve the adaptation. Not to have done so was fault. However, the works have now been agreed and this remedies any injustice to Mrs X from this fault.

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Agreed action

30. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although I found fault with the actions of Rykneld Homes, I have recommended actions for the Council.
31. To remedy the injustice to Mrs X from the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Mrs X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology
• Pay Mrs X £300 in recognition of the avoidable distress caused by the delay completing the works to her kitchen.
32. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
33. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Remind relevant staff that works agreed as part of a disabled adaptation should include details of any other works necessary to achieve the adaptation.
• Remind relevant staff that the extent of disabled adaptation works should be clearly recorded and communicated to the applicant in writing.
34. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within eight weeks of my final decision.

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Final decision

35. I have completed my investigation. There was some fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman