Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about decisions made by the Council’s Adult Social Care Service. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a decision by the Council’s Adult Social Care team that he cannot stay in short-term step-down accommodation whilst awaiting an offer of suitable permanent housing.

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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. Following a hospital admission, Mr X was discharged into short-term step-down accommodation funded by Adult Social Care, whilst the Council sought suitable long-term accommodation. The Council told Mr X it would fund the accommodation for six weeks. If he remained there for more than six weeks, he may be liable for charges for the care.
6. A year after his admission, Mr X remained in the step-down accommodation. The Council said it had offered Mr X a number of short-term properties, but Mr X had declined these.
7. The Council then offered Mr X a tenancy in long-term extra care housing accommodation, but Mr X also declined this.
8. In July 2024, the Council told Mr X it was terminating his stay in the step-down accommodation and asked him to vacate the property. It told him he needed to either accept the Adult Social Care team’s offer of extra care housing or move to emergency accommodation arranged by the Council’s housing needs service.
9. Mr X wants to stay in the step-down accommodation until the Council makes him an offer of suitable housing for him and his family.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. On admission to the step-down accommodation, the Adult Social Care team told Mr X that it was a short-term solution to facilitate hospital discharge. He has already stayed there significantly longer than the standard six weeks, so it is reasonable for it to decide Mr X must move to alternative accommodation. The Council's Adult Social Care team has made him an offer of alternative accommodation and it was Mr X’s decision to decline this. It also advised him he has the option to move to emergency housing, whilst awaiting a suitable housing offer. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

11. 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