National Ombudsmen
Printable version |
Family misses out on more than two years of support because Lancashire County Council did not fund appropriate respite care
A Lancashire family missed out on quality time together for more than two years, because the county council did not provide the correct support to their severely disabled daughter, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has found.
The
family had been in receipt of funding which gave them one weekend a month of
respite care for their daughter, who has a number of medical conditions
affecting her development, learning ability and behaviour and required constant
supervision and care. This package allowed the family, which also included two
other children, the chance to spend time together.
When that placement was no longer suitable in June 2009, Lancashire County
Council failed to provide adequate replacement care, or offer the correct
amount of additional funding to purchase a suitable alternative.
The package offered to the family was at much less than the council’s
standard rate for direct payments, leaving the family without adequate support
– and without the ability to fund alternative placements when their
favoured provider was closed during the holidays.
The council also failed to review the case for the next two years. When it
reassessed the girl’s needs in September 2011 it took another five months
to clarify the details of the package and how it could be used.
By January 2012 the council discovered the family was being underfunded.
Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said:
“The family has been affected during a crucial stage in the
siblings’ schooling causing them a great deal of distress. Lancashire
County Council should have reviewed the family’s options much earlier
than they did.
“I am particularly concerned that the council said it was making direct
payments that could have been used to purchase other services, when in fact the
rate at which they were paid was so low that the family were limited to just
one provider. This is contrary to the intentions of a policy designed to give
people greater personal choice over provision of service.
“The council should have either paid the family at the full rate from
September 2009 when the placement broke down, or funded a like-for-like
alternative placement for the weekend respite care.”
To remedy the complaint, the LGO has recommended that the county council pay
the family £7,500. The council has agreed to this
remedy.