A family has been awarded a pay out of more than £9,000 after a North London council delayed providing support to their son with ‘significant care needs’. It took more than a year before he got the additional help he required, meaning the family had to provide support for up to 80 hours a week – which should have been funded by the local authority.
An investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found that Brent Council was ‘at fault’ for delays in increasing the care package for the son, referred to in the report as Mr Y. The council initially agreed to pay £5,150 in compensation for the delay but the Ombudsman concluded that this doesn’t take into account the impact on the rest of the family and increased the amount to £9,150.
Brent Council reviewed Mr Y’s care and support plan in September 2022, which found that his incontinence meant there was a ‘significant amount of additional washing’ that his family was struggling to cope with. It recommended support from a cleaner twice a week for up to four hours total to help with the laundry, as well as other necessary increases to the overall care package.
However, despite having agreed to the changes in December 2022 – which involved support with personal care, including weekends and evenings, and behavioural therapy totalling 288 hours a week – the council did not set up the increase and it wasn’t implemented until October 2023. It had also been cut down to 260 hours a week after the overnight support was removed
The solicitor acting on behalf of Mr Y subsequently complained to the council about the delays and support provided, which the local authority claimed was due to it having to wait for the finalised decision from the NHS. It also added that the care package had increased to 288 hours a week from October 1.
The council later offered Mr Y’s mother, referred to as Ms X, £150 for the ‘inadequate response’ to the first complaint and £5,000 for the delays providing care, which it said would come off her outstanding debt to the council. The historic debt appears to relate to the misuse of Mr Y’s direct payments by his mother when she used to manage them, according to the LGO report, however the investigator called this ‘inappropriate’ as it would prevent the funds from working ‘as intended’.
There was no evidence to suggest that Mr Y suffered because of the long delay as the boy’s family ensured that all of his care needs were met but, following the investigation, the LGO said the financial compensation didn’t take into account the impact the delay had on Mr Y’s siblings and mother. The report states: “It left the family providing support for up to 80 hours a week, which should have been funded by Mr Y’s personal budget. This prevented them from doing other things they had wanted to do with their lives. That is an injustice which needs a remedy for the three of them.”
Therefore, the council has been told to pay Mr Y’s family £9,000 to ‘remedy the injustice’ caused by the delays in setting up his increased personal budget and pay Ms X £150 for ‘the distress caused’ by not properly responding to her initial complaint – none of which should be used to reduce any of the historic debt.
A spokesperson for Brent Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We apologise to Mr. Y and his family for any distress caused. The recommended payment has been made and we have introduced new timescales within our Learning Disabilities service to ensure timely action, supported by fortnightly managerial reviews.
“We continue to work closely with our health colleagues to ensure Mr. Y receives the appropriate care and support. We remain fully committed to learning from this experience and improving our approach to provide the highest standards of service to those who rely on us.”
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
