Luton Borough Council (22 005 168)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 14-May-2023

Summary: Mr X complains the Council delayed assessing his mother’s needs, suspended her direct payments, despite the fact she continued to have eligible care needs, failed to reinstate them and failed to respond to his complaints, leaving his mother paying for her own care. The Council delayed assessing his mother’s needs, leaving the family to make their own arrangements, failed to respond properly to Mr X’s complaints, and refused to backdate its payments based on inaccurate information. To remedy the injustice caused by it failings, the Council needs to apologise and backdate the direct payments to October 2021. The Council was not at fault for suspending the direct payments when the family employed someone who was not eligible to work in the UK. Nor was it a fault for refusing to reinstate the direct payments when the family wanted to use a care provider for which Mr X is a director.

Luton Borough Council (22 010 409)

Statement Upheld Other 19-Jun-2023

Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to deal properly with his request for a carer’s grant, leaving him without the support he needs as his mother’s carer. The Council failed to deal properly with his carer’s grant in 2021 and failed to communicate properly with him later that year, resulting in him missing out on the opportunity to be considered for a carer’s grant in 2022. The Council needs to apologise and make a symbolic payment.

Luton Borough Council (23 003 769)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 26-Jun-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about highway maintenance because we are satisfied with the actions already taken by the Council.

Luton Borough Council (22 015 676)

Statement Upheld Other 27-Jul-2023

Summary: Mr B complains the Council has not dealt properly with his social care. The Council has fully upheld his complaint and confirmed there is a waiting list of other people awaiting support. The Council has said it will apologise, refund Mr B any excess payments and support him to employ another personal assistant. The Council has also agreed to pay Mr B £500 for the avoidable distress this caused him and provide a report to the Ombudsman.

Luton Borough Council (22 015 473)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 03-Aug-2023

Summary: there was delay and other faults in the way the Council carried out a safeguarding enquiry after Miss X reported concerns about the poor quality of care provided to her mother, Mrs Z, by a care agency. This fault caused avoidable distress and uncertainty. I also found fault in the way the Council handled Miss X’s complaint about this matter. The Council was not at fault for the time it took to find an alternative care agency to deliver Mrs Z’s care package.

Luton Borough Council (22 018 241)

Statement Upheld Charging 04-Sep-2023

Summary: Miss X complained on behalf of her mother, Mrs Y. Miss X said the Council incorrectly calculated Mrs Y’s contribution for her care. The Council was at fault for delays in reviewing Mrs Y’s care contribution and significant delays in dealing with the complaint. It agreed to pay Miss X and Mrs Y £150 each to recognise the distress and uncertainty this caused.

Luton Borough Council (23 002 757)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 25-Sep-2023

Summary: There was fault by the Council, because it did not secure provision set out in a child’s education, health and care plan. However, this did not cause any significant injustice. We have therefore completed our investigation.

Luton Borough Council (23 010 964)

Statement Upheld Safeguarding 14-Nov-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s safeguarding investigation into the care the late Mr B received from his Care Provider. This is because further investigation could not add to the Council’s responses or provide Mrs C with a different outcome. We could not now provide a remedy for any injustice caused to Mr B because he is deceased.

Luton Borough Council (23 008 215)

Statement Upheld Planning applications 09-Jan-2024

Summary: Mr X complains the Council was at fault for wrongly telling him he needed to create a parking area at his property before making a dropped kerb application. And it failed to advise he needed planning permission causing distress and financial loss. We have found no evidence of fault by the Council that it advised Mr X to build a parking area at his property before applying for a dropped kerb and receiving approval. But we found fault as the Council failed to ensure its contractor was aware of Mr X’s need to apply for planning permission. This led to confusion and uncertainty for Mr X. The Council has offered a suitable remedy payment to Mr X, so we have completed our investigation.