Give clear advice on disability payments, says LGO as council told to pay £7k

The Local Government Ombudsman has called on councils’ adult social care teams to provide clear advice to service users on the “often complex” system of disability payments.

The LGO made its comments after an investigation into a complaint about Central Bedfordshire Council in which a woman with significant disabilities was left without proper care and support because of a lack of proper information.

The woman, Ms J, complained that the council did not administer her direct payments properly; including giving her a clear idea of what could be included in her disability-related expenditure (DRE). She also claimed that Central Bedfordshire had not followed its complaints procedure when investigating her complaint.

In its report the LGO found that the council failed to keep adequate records including her care needs assessment and records of meetings, and did not provide the woman with clear information about its assessments and calculations.

The Ombudsman also found that Central Bedfordshire did not take sufficient account of the impact the woman’s disability has on her day-to-day activities. The woman’s support plan was also not clear about her personal assistants’ duties.

The LGO accepted Ms J's complaint that the council did not follow its own complaints procedure when she complained and instead tried to resolve the matter by arranging meetings, which the woman struggled to attend because of her disabilities.

This meant that she did not have a proper support plan and had had less care than she should have received, had not had an accurate financial assessment since 2010 so was likely to have been wrongly charged, and had suffered significant and avoidable distress and frustration, the report found.

The Ombudsman recommended that the council should:

• apologise to Ms J;
• confirm immediately that it would not seek to reclaim any unpaid contributions from Ms J, and write off any debts it was currently attempting to recover;
• arrange for an independent social worker to carry out a new care needs assessment and prepare a new support plan, without delay;
• set up a clear working agreement for future reviews and monitoring;
• reconsider Ms J’s disability related expenditure (DRE) and provide a clear explanation of why it does not consider some costs arise from her disability;
• pay Ms J: £5,000 to acknowledge the impact on her of being without adequate care and support for over two years; and £2,000 to acknowledge the avoidable distress and frustration the Council’s faults have caused her.

The council has agreed to implement the recommendations.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said: “Negotiating the different financial requirements of the adult social care system can be a daunting prospect for people. Local authorities need to remember that many people are relying upon clear and accurate advice and support from their council to help them make informed choices about their care.

“This case highlights the consequences when that clear advice is not available leading to a vulnerable woman receiving less care and support than she might have been entitled to for a number of years.

“I am pleased Central Bedfordshire Council has agreed to my recommendations and hope the remedies I have recommended will improve the situation for this woman and ensure this sort of confusion does not happen again for other people.”