Summary: Mr D complained the Council’s Social Worker communicated poorly with him and failed to progress his housing application. As a result, he said he experienced distress and uncertainty. We found no fault in how the Council handled Mr D’s care support, nor his application for supported accommodation. It reached decisions it was entitled to make, so we cannot criticise the merits of its decisions.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr D, complained the Council’s social worker:
• failed to provide enough care support and progress his case for supported accommodation;
• failed to communicate properly and keep him informed about changes in his case; and
• wrongly involved his mother in his case which caused a conflict of interest and sharing of personal information.
2. As a result, Mr D said he experienced distress and uncertainty.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with a council’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

7. As part of my investigation, I have:
• considered Mr D’s complaint and the Council’s responses;
• discussed the complaint with Mr D;
• considered the information the Council provided in response to my enquiries; and
• considered the relevant law, guidance and policy.
8. Mr D and the Council 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

Relevant law

Care and support

9. Sections 9 and 10 of the Care Act 2014 require councils to carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. Where the council identifies “eligible” care needs it will prepare a care and support plan that sets out how those needs will be met. The council can meet the person’s eligible needs by arranging for a care provider to provide care.
10. The Care and Support statutory guidance says care assessments and reviews must be person centred. The person with care needs, their carers and any representatives should therefore be part of the decisions relevant for their care.

Housing

11. Sheltered housing is available to people who are able to live independently with some support. This can include 24-hour emergency help, communal areas and social activities for residents.
12. Supported living housing is for people with a higher level of need. It is a combination of suitable housing and extra support. The support is typically help getting up and out of bed, going to work, light home maintenance, administration, and personal care.

Information sharing

13. The Council’s Adult Safeguarding Privacy Notice sets out what information the Council will collect on individuals with care needs and how it may share the information. This includes sharing information with a person’s advocate, carer, and family members.
14. The Information Commissioner's Office considers complaints about information sharing. Its decision notices may be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). So, where we receive complaints about freedom of information, we normally consider it reasonable to expect the person to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.

Background

15. Mr D has lived most of his life with his mother (Mrs X) in her home. He has mental health issues and Mrs X provides him with care support. However, Mr D has capacity to make his own decisions.
16. Mr D’s relationship with Mrs X has been volatile at times, which has required police intervention and Mr D has previously been arrested for assault.
17. The Council has known about Mr D’s support needs for a long time, which is set out in his Care Plan. It also has a support worker allocated to support him.
18. Mr D has told the Council he needs supported accommodations, or independent accommodation with support to access the community and some general help, including support to manage his finances.
19. In response to Mr D’s requests, or due to the breakdowns in his relationship with Mrs X, the Council has previously placed him in temporary accommodation and supported accommodation. However, Mr D has on each occasion ended the tenancies and returned to Mrs X’s home. He said this was because the placements were not suitable, or he did not have enough support available.
20. In 2020 Mr D complained to the Council about the support he was receiving from his allocated Social Worker. He told the Council she had failed to:
• progress his housing application into supported living; and
• respond and communicate properly with him about his case, including leaving him without support when she was on leave.
21. In response the Council accepted its Social Worker had not always responded to Mr D’s communication, and it had not properly arranged cover for his support when she was on leave as set out in its policy. It also said it accepted his wait for supported accommodation had been particularly long and apologised. However, it had since found supported accommodation for him which included care support for his needs, and he had moved in.

What happened

22. In early 2021, Mr D told the Council he was terminating his tenancy with the supported accommodation provider it had placed him in. He said this was because it was not suitable. Shortly after, Mr D moved back in with Mrs X.
23. The Council reviewed Mr D’s Care Plan. The Plan said Mr D did not have any care needs as Mrs X would support him. However, it should still find suitable supported accommodation going forward.
24. Two weeks later, Mr D told the Council his relationship with Mrs X had broken down.
25. The Council reviewed Mr D’s Care Plan again. The Plan says it:
• arranged a temporary accommodation for Mr D and offered him support to access the community;
• Mr D had since said his relationship with Mrs X had improved again, so she would help him with his needs;
• told Mr D he had been nominated for a flat in the High Street, which would be completed in the end of the year;
• found Mr D did not need supported accommodation at the time, but if offered he may consider a move if his needs could be met; and
• had referred Mr D to a support service, which helps individuals with mental health difficulties to address social care needs, which included accessing the community.
26. In summer 2021, Mr D complained to the Council about how his Social Worker’s handling of his case. He said she had:
• failed to answer or return his calls and keep him informed about his case;
• failed to provide the support set out in his Care Plan regarding access to the community, support with medical and financial issues, and finding supported accommodation; and
• wrongly made decisions or involved other parties in his case which caused a conflict of interest. This included the Police and Mrs X.
27. The Council found Mr D’s complaint to be similar to his 2020 complaint. It therefore considered the complaint under its stage two complaints procedure. It did not uphold his complaint. It explained its Social Worker:
• tried to respond as much as possible, but she was not always able to do so as quickly as he wanted, and at times she could not get through to him;
• had worked hard to find supported accommodation for him, but the process could take time due to Mr D’s needs and the limited availability of suitable accommodation;
• was unaware Mr D felt he needed help with finances or wanted extra activities outside the house. However, she would review these with him;
• was providing support to both Mrs X and Mr D. It had previously found this to be suitable with no conflict of interest. However, going forward she would check with Mr D first to confirm if information should be shared with Mrs X, and it would review the arrangement if any further safeguarding concerns arose; and
• had not requested a mental health assessment of Mr D in relation to the Police involvement.
28. Mr D remains unhappy with the Council’s Social Worker’s handling of his case. He asked the Ombudsman to consider his complaint.
29. I understand Mr D’s relationship with Mrs X deteriorated again in Autumn 2021, which resulted in his arrest. The Council placed Mr D in a temporary accommodation and arranged support to meet his needs. He now lives partly in his temporary accommodation and with Mrs X. Also, Mr D’s local Council has offered him a flat and he is awaiting a date to move in.

Analysis

30. Mr D’s complaint includes the Council’s handling of his housing application and care support since 2018. These parts of his complaint are therefore late. I have seen no good reason to exercise my discretion to consider matters before 2021. This is because Mr D complained to the Council in Autumn 2020 and received a response to his concerns. He did not escalate his complaint with the Council and bring those concerns to our attention at the time.

Care Plan

31. Mr D’s Care Plan’s shows the Council accepts his needs varies depending on whether he lives with Mrs X or in other accommodation. This is because he told the Council Mrs X will provide him with social care support when he was living with her.
32. Based on the evidence available, the Council considered Mr D’s needs, his wishes and offered support to meet his needs. It has set these out in his Care Plan and kept it under review when his personal circumstances changed.
33. I understand Mr D feels he had additional needs for support with extra access to the community and to manage his finances. However, the Council said its Social Worker was unaware of this, and I have seen no evidence such needs were later requested by Mr D. I have therefore not found the Council at fault for failing to meet Mr D’s social care needs.

Supported housing

34. When Mr D terminated his supported accommodation in early 2021, the Council considered his housing needs and set these out in his Care Plan.
35. I am satisfied the Council has since 2021 acted on Mr D’s housing needs each time his personal circumstances have changed. This includes:
• offering some care support when he lived with Mrs X; and
• providing temporary accommodation and support when Mr D’s relationship with Mrs X broke down.
36. However, neither of these options were supported accommodation as identified in his Care Plan.
37. The Council’s records show its Social Worker has actively tried to source supported accommodation which met Mr D’s needs since he left his supported accommodation. This has included referrals, which were refused by the housing provider. I have therefore not found the Council at fault for failing to progress his housing application.
38. I understand Mr D was frustrated due to the time it has taken to find suitable accommodation. However, I cannot fault the Council for the lack of supported accommodation which were available to Mr D from 2021.

Communication

39. The Council accepted in 2020, its Social Worker’s communication with Mr D had not been good enough. It apologised to him and made changes to ensure she responded to his concerns in a timely manner.
40. I acknowledge since 2021 Mr D still feels his Social Worker should update and communicate with him more often, including responding to his calls sooner.
41. Based on the information available, I cannot say if there were instances where Mr D’s Support Worker failed to return his calls. However, it is clear the Council at times struggled to get in contact with Mr D. I have not found fault in how the Council communicated with Mr D about his case. This is because the Council’s records show it:
• told Mr D when there were changes or updates in his case;
• logged and returned calls from Mr D, although it was not always able to reach him;
• discussed his needs, views and progress in his case when its support worker met, or spoke, with him; and
• its Social Care Team was available to be contacted, in circumstances when his Social Worker was unavailable.

Conflict of Interest and sharing of information

42. When the Council allocated a Social Worker to support Mr D, it found it could best support the family if both Mr D and Mrs X had the same support worker. It reached its view by considering the family’s circumstances, history, and volatile relationship. It also had no objections from Mr D or Mrs X. As the Council properly considered its decision, I cannot criticise its view.
43. The Council has since reconsidered its view following its safeguarding investigations and Mr D’s arrest. It found it was still appropriate for its Social Worker to continue to provide support to them both, but it would review this if further safeguarding concerns were raised.
44. I understand Mr D feels this is a conflict of interest. However, I have seen no evidence this is the case. Mr D’s and Mrs X’s interests are the same, namely the wellbeing of Mr D and the aim of obtaining suitable supported accommodation.
45. Based on the evidence available, I also found the Council had not wrongly shared information about Mr D with Mrs X. In reaching my view, I am conscious:
• its support worker has shared information with Mr D and Mrs X about his care and housing situation throughout. The evidence shows Mr D was happy with this arrangement, and he relied on Mrs X’s support in appointments and during some calls;
• there is no evidence Mr D had previously raised concerns about information sharing with Mrs X to the Council; and
• in its response to Mr D’s complaint, the Council agreed to confirm whether information can be shared with Mrs X before doing so.
46. If Mr D still feels the Council wrongly shared his information with Mrs X or any other party, he can bring his complaint to the attention of the Information Commissioner (ICO) for its consideration.

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Final decision

47. I found no fault by the Council. It is on this basis I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman