Ombudsman criticises council over failure to provide agreed remedies

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) has sharply criticised a county council after it took a second complaint from a family for the local authority to provide previously agreed remedies.

The LGO said Northamptonshire County Council had agreed in 2016 to improve services for a young woman who had learning difficulties after failing to provide her with the proper school transport, home care and respite.

In the original complaint, the girl’s mother told the Ombudsman the problems they encountered meant the daughter lost at least six months’ of education in her last year at school.

“This contributed to setting back her progress towards adult life, including being able to move on to post-18 activities and education,” the LGO said.

Northamptonshire subsequently promised to apologise to the family, pay them a financial remedy and liaise with the family to find out whether they could be offered any additional services to help the daughter make up lost progress.

However, despite the council’s agreement to carry out the Ombudsman’s recommendations within a three-month deadline, the chief executive failed even to apologise.

Only when the family complained again to the Ombudsman in 2017 did Northamptonshire begin to provide the previously agreed remedies.

The LGO said that, to remedy the complaint, the council would contact the family about the previous recommendation to consider whether it could offer anything more to help the daughter make up lost progress.

It will also pay the daughter £150 and the mother £250 in recognition of its failure to provide a timely remedy.

Northamptonshire has also agreed to monitor its new procedure for dealing with Ombudsman recommendations.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “I have issued this report against Northamptonshire County Council because I take any breach of an agreement with my findings seriously.

“The county council had ample time to honour its remedies with this family, and their failure to do so has only amplified the injustice.

“People can only have trust in their local councils if they carry out actions which they have promised to do, without prompting.”

He added: “While the council has now put in place three of my four recommendations, and is working on providing the fourth, I am disappointed this only took place after further intervention from me.”