Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to suspend direct payments for his two adult children. The Council has thoroughly investigated Mr X’s concerns and we could not add to its response or achieve the outcome he wants

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to suspend direct payments for his two adult children since June 2023. He says his children have been left without adequate alternative care provision. Mr X says the Council has not properly responded to his complaints about this issue. He and his wife are unable to rebuild the package of support for their children because of the Council’s action. He wants the Council to reinstate the original direct payments, reimburse the costs he and his wife have incurred and pay compensation to his family for the distress caused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X’s adult children have complex care needs. They receive help with daily activities through a care and support package, funded by the Council. Until April 2023, Mr and Mrs X received direct payments from the Council to pay for their children’s care.
7. Last year, Mr X complained to us following the Council’s refusal to consider his complaints about stopping direct payments. We upheld the complaint and the Council agreed to our recommendation to consider Mr X’s complaint about ending direct payments and the impact this had had on him and his wife.
8. The Council commissioned an Independent Investigating Officer (IIO) to undertake the investigation into Mr X’s complaints about the Council’s handling. Mr X declined to engage in the investigation process and chose not to meet with the IIO. The IIO based their investigation on the correspondence the Council had already received from Mr X about his concerns. The IIO also examined Council case records and interviewed two Council employees who had been involved. The IIO did not uphold Mr X’s complaint the Council had failed to consider the impact of ending direct payments on Mr and Mrs X. The IIO upheld Mr X’s complaint that the Council had not included information about its complaint procedure when it notified him it would be ending the direct payments for his children. The Council accepted the IIO’s findings and agreed to implement the recommendation made about its template letter for ceasing direct payments.
9. Mr X’s disagreement with the Council’s approach to his complaint and its decision to appoint an Independent Investigating Officer is not evidence of fault by the Council. The Council was entitled to decide what approach it took to investigate and respond to Mr X’s concerns, provided such action was not contrary to statutory guidance.
10. Mr X’s decision not to engage with the investigation into his complaints is also not evidence of fault by the Council. This does not mean further investigation by us is warranted or justified.
11. The Council has undertaken as thorough an investigation as possible based on the circumstances of this case and Mr X’s limited involvement. The complaint response appears reasonable and proportionate. Further investigation by us is unlikely to add to the Council’s response nor will it achieve the outcomes Mr X is seeking. We have no powers to award compensation in the way the courts might for damages.
12. The Council has provided us with copies of the individual care and support plans for each of Mr and Mrs X’s children. It has confirmed it offered to discuss alternative support options with Mr and Mrs X when it gave notice it was ending direct payments. Alternative support provision has been in place for Mr and Mrs X’s children since they agreed to this from the end of April 2023 onwards.
13. Mr X has asked the Council to reimburse costs he and his wife have incurred since direct payments stopped. The Council has agreed to consider his claims, subject to Mr X providing the evidence it had requested to support the claims. As a result, there is nothing more we could achieve for Mr X by investigating further.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because further investigation could add to the Council’s previous response and we cannot achieve the outcomes Mr X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman