Miss X complained about a lack of clarity about the level of direct payments for her son during the school closures due to COVID-19, as well as delays in payments being made. She also complained that she had not been updated about the recommendations made in a report on her complaint under stage 2 of the statutory social services procedure.
The Ombudsman noted that, whilst the Council had formulated an Action Plan to implement to stage 2 report’s recommendations, it had not shared this with Miss X or updated her about its actions. The Ombudsman would expect complainants to be told about action taken as a result of their complaint.
The Council therefore agreed to the following actions, by 21 May: a) To provide the complainant with a copy of the Action Plan and confirm what the Council has done to achieve those actions.
b) To provide an apology to the complainant for not updating her about the action taken concerning the recommendations on her complaint.
c) To invite the complainant to be part of the interest group on direct payments if she wishes to do so.
d) To update the Ombudsman on the Action Plan and provide the Ombudsman with a copy of its update to the complainant.