Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council wrongly refused her son a place in one of its specialist supported living facilities. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council (Council A) refused to allow her son, Mr Z, who lives in a different Council area (Council B) to move to a specialist supported living facility within its area.
2. Mrs X says that as a result, her son has been unable to move closer to her, which is what he wants, and he has been discriminated against because of his disability.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. This complaint relates only to the actions of Council A.
7. Mr Z has a disability and lives in another council area (Council B). Earlier in the year, Mrs X, who lives within Council A asked Council A to assess Mr Z with a view to him moving into Facility G which is located in Council A’s area.
8. Because Mr Z lived within Council B, it was Council B’s responsibility to assess Mr Z and source and fund any placement, including any that were out of area. Council A informed Council B of this.
9. Council B contacted Council A about Facility G. Council A said that this was primarily for Council A residents, but if a place became vacant and there were no suitable Council A applicants, it would offer it to Mr Z if Council B considered the placement suitable. The Council said that if Council B agreed, Mr Z could in the meantime go onto the waiting list.
10. Council B then approached Facility G directly. A staff member told Council B that there had been a vacancy for a year.
11. Mrs X complained to Council A. She said that Mr Z should have been offered the vacancy at Facility G. She also said the Council had discriminated against Mr Z because of his disability. She said that if he had been able bodied, he would have been eligible to move into Council A’s area because he had a local connection (Mrs X).
12. The Council apologised for any confusion. It repeated that Mr Z could go on the waiting list if Council B approved Facility G as suitable. It said it managed the Council waiting list for Facility G and staff were not necessarily aware of who was on the waiting list or who were waiting for an assessment. It said the regional manager at Facility G had agreed to discuss this matter with staff to avoid a similar confusion in future.
13. Mrs X remained unhappy and complained to us.
14. The Council correctly advised Mrs X that it was Council B’s responsibility to assess Mr Z and apply for and fund a placement at Facility G. The fact Council A gave preference to disabled Council A residents does not mean it failed to have regard to Mr Z’s rights under the Equality Act 2010 or Human Rights Act 1998. It is likely Council B does the same thing. And the procedures for joining an out of area housing register are different and it is not valid to compare the two process.
15. The Council told Mrs X there was no vacancy at Facility G. It explained why she had been misinformed and apologised for any confusion. It then took steps to ensure the same thing did not happen again.
16. Therefore, we will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints because it is unlikely we would find fault.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman