Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the outcome of an adult social care assessment. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has refused to provide him with adult social care support to meet his needs. He says this has negatively affected his health and wellbeing. He wants the Council to provide him with support and improve its practice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Councils must carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. Where an assessment identifies a person has eligible needs, the Council must set out in a care and support plan how it will meet the person’s needs.
6. The Council completed an adult social care needs assessment with Mr X in October 2024. The assessment included information about his mental and physical health, medical history, and current circumstances. It documented Mr X’s views and current abilities in relation to daily living activities. It detailed the current support Mr X received for his mental health. It concluded Mr X did not have any eligible needs for adult social care support. It provided him with details of services in the community where he could access additional support for his mental health, should he wish to do so.
7. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has assessed Mr X but decided he does not have eligible care and support needs. It appropriately included Mr X in the assessment and recorded his views. It considered his mental and physical health, his ability to manage daily living activities and his current circumstances. This is what we would expect. Although I accept Mr X disagrees with the decision that he does not have eligible needs, there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman