Ombudsman issues reminder to councils of proper process for supporting vulnerable people at assessment meetings

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has issued a reminder to councils that vulnerable people can choose who supports them through care reviews.

The LGO’s comments followed an investigation after Suffolk County Council halted assessments for a couple’s care and support plans because of a dispute.

The couple, who are deafblind, wanted their support worker to attend meetings with the council to discuss care package reviews.

However, Suffolk County Council said it was not appropriate for the support worker to attend, and wanted an independent advocate there instead.

The couple complained to the Ombudsman. The LGO said its investigation had found flaws in the council’s assessments of the couple.

It had also found Suffolk at fault for excluding the couple’s support worker from the support review meetings, and for saying it could not complete the couple’s care and support plans while there was an ongoing complaint.

The LGO said the council had accepted most of the Ombudsman’s findings, but had yet to accept it was wrong to exclude the support worker from the meetings.

The Ombudsman called on the council to:

• apologise to the couple;
• pay them £500 for the distress they had been caused;
• apologise to their support worker and pay her £250 for the trouble she had been put to in pursuing the complaint;
• reassess the couple’s needs and update their care and support plans;
• ensure they are supported by their support worker, if that is what they want, through the assessment and planning process.

The LGO also recommended that Suffolk considers how it will make sure:

• assessments are complete and accurate;
• care and support plans comply with statutory guidance;
• people are supported through the assessment and planning processes by anyone they want;
• it does not allow disputes over personal budgets, and how care needs should be met, to prevent it from completing care and support plans; and
• mental capacity assessments comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Michael King, said: “Statutory guidance says when assessing people and revising their care and support plans they can have any other person they want involved.

“While the council was right to identify the need for an independent advocate because, as a paid employee, the couple’s support worker could not fulfil that role, that did not mean it could exclude her from meetings to discuss the couple’s care and support plans.

“I now urge Suffolk County Council to consider my report and its findings and complete its assessment of the couple.”