Summary: Mr X complains the Council has not provided Adult Social Care support and not dealt with reports of anti-social behaviour. The Council is not at fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council has not dealt properly with requests for support from Adult Social Care and has not dealt properly with reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) he reported, from December 2022.
2. Mr X says he has been left unsupported, ASB issue have not been resolved and he has suffered avoidable distress.

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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. When considering complaints, 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.
5. 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

6. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint and considered documents he provided. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response and the supporting documents it provided.
7. Mr X 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

Law, guidance and policies

Safeguarding

8. A council must make enquiries if it thinks a person may be at risk of abuse or neglect and has care and support needs which mean the person cannot protect themselves. An enquiry is the action taken by a council in response to a concern about abuse or neglect. An enquiry could range from a conversation with the person who is the subject of the concern, to a more formal multi-agency arrangement. A council must also decide whether it or another person or agency should take any action to protect the person from abuse. (section 42, Care Act 2014)

Assessment

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. They must provide an assessment to everyone regardless of their finances or whether the council thinks the person has eligible needs. The assessment must be of the adult’s needs and how they impact on their wellbeing and the results they want to achieve. It must also involve the individual and where suitable their carer or any other person they might want involved.
10. Councils must carry out assessments over a suitable and reasonable timescale considering the urgency of needs and any variation in those needs. Councils should tell people when their assessment will take place and keep them informed throughout the assessment.

Refusal of assessment

11. An adult with possible care and support needs or a carer may choose to refuse an assessment. In these circumstances councils do not have to carry out an assessment.

Anti-social behaviour

12. Councils have a general duty to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). But ASB can take many different forms; and when someone reports a problem, councils should decide which of their powers is most suitable.
13. Under some circumstances, they may approach a complaint using their powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
14. The 2014 Act introduced six powers for agencies involved in tackling ASB. These are:

• the power to issue a community protection notice (CPN);
• the power to make a public spaces protection order (PSPO);
• the power to close premises for a set length of time;
• a civil injunction (a court order, which a council can apply for);
• a criminal behaviour order (a court order made following a conviction); and
• the power for the police to disperse people from a specified area.

What happened?

15. This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
16. Mr X contacted the Council in December 2022 asking to report issues involving harassment, neighbours being abusive and leaving communal doors open.
17. Mr X contacted the Council again in early February 2023 regarding his electricity supply being turned off, continuing harassment and neighbour disputes.
18. The Council opened a safeguarding referral to consider Mr X’s problems. It directed Mr X to his housing provider and to the police about harassment issues. The Council closed its safeguarding referral without further action.
19. Mr X contact the Council in late February 2023 reporting issues of electricity supply being turned off, continuing harassment and neighbour abuse.
20. The Council opened a second safeguarding referral to consider Mr X’s report. It decided to make enquiries about the issues raised. The Council visiting Mr X, made enquiries and held a meeting with relevant other bodies.
21. Mr X complained to the Council in May 2023 about action in relation to anti-social behaviour he reported. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint at stage 1 in its complaints process. Mr X did not escalate his complaint.
22. The Council closed the second safeguarding referral in September 2023.
23. Mr X telephoned the Council a second time in April 2024 complaining about lack of adult social care support and issues of anti-social behaviour. The Council did not uphold Mr X’s complaint and considered it unsubstantiated.

Analysis

24. The Council opened two safeguarding referrals in response to Mr X’s concerns, in December 2022 and February 2023.
25. Case notes and safeguarding documents show the Council made contact with Mr X in January 2023 after the first referral and considered whether it should make further enquiries. It then decided to close the first safeguarding referral.
26. Case notes and safeguarding documents shows the Council made the decision to hold a multi-agency meeting after it opened the second safeguarding referral.
27. Case notes show:
• Mr X was advised to contact the police regarding alleged harassment from his neighbours. Records show the police were unable to take action due to lack of evidence.
• Mr X was considered by police, housing and the Council to suffer a degree of mental health problems.
• Mr X was refusing to engage with his housing provider.
• Mr X’s housing provider had served notice to seek possession of the property he was living in.
• Mr X made clear that what he wanted was help to avoid being evicted.
• The Council made referrals for an advocacy service to assist Mr X.
• The Council made a decision to close the second safeguarding referral.
28. The Council followed the correct process and documented how it dealt with the safeguarding referrals. The Council took the appropriate actions in respect of concerns raised by Mr X. This is not fault by the Council.
29. Case notes show the Council recorded that it considered that Mr X did not have any unmet Care Act needs, whilst it considered the safeguarding referrals.
30. Case notes show Mr X was offered an adult social care needs assessment on multiple occasions and declined this.
31. The Council considered Mr X’s needs and made attempts to offer him an assessment which would identify any unmet need. This is not fault by the Council.

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Final decision

32. I have not found fault by the Council. Subject to further comments by Mr X and the Council, I intend to complete my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman