A local council has been told to pay compensation to the mother of a disabled child for twice failing to assess her needs as a carer.
Southend council agreed to apologise to the mother for twice failing to assess her needs as a carer.
This was despite agreeing to do so in a previous investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Ombudsman Amerdeep Somal: “Southend council failed to conduct a proper assessment of the mother’s needs despite agreeing to do so with my office”
£1,000 for distress and time
The council will also pay the mother £1,000 to recognise her distress and the time it has taken to complain twice.
In the previous complaint, the mother told the Ombudsman that Southend-on-Sea City Council had not carried out a parent carer’s assessment when looking at her son’s needs as a disabled child.
Assessment failure
The council agreed to the Ombudsman’s recommendation to assess her needs as a carer.
But the Ombudsman’s second investigation found the council did not carry out a proper assessment.
It did not consider her needs as a carer. Neither did it take into account that the mother herself had disabilities. Instead, it again focused on her son’s needs.
Failure to consider mum’s concerns
The Ombudsman also said that when the mother complained to the council, it failed to consider her concerns under the statutory three-stage children’s complaints process, as it should have done.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is Amerdeep Somal.
She said: “Southend council failed to conduct a proper assessment of the mother’s needs, despite agreeing to do so with my office.
“The assessment it did make did not properly consider the impact on her mental health and wellbeing of being a carer for a disabled child.
“This raises my concerns that the council is not fully aware of its duty to ensure both the needs of service users and their carers are fully considered when carrying out combined assessments.”
Training needed
The Ombudsman added: “I have asked the council to carry out some training with its officers about completing such assessments, and to remind them about those complaints which fall under the Children’s Statutory Complaints Process. I hope this will ensure complaints are dealt with appropriately in future.”
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice. It also shares learning from investigations to help improve public and adult social care services.
Apology agreed
In this case, the council has agreed to apologise to the mother for not carrying out a proper carer’s needs assessment.
It will also arrange for an independent social worker to conduct a standalone assessment for her.
The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public.
In this case, the council will carry out training on how to conduct a parent carer’s needs assessment.
It will also issue a briefing note to all relevant staff. This will detail complaints that fall within the scope of the statutory children’s complaints procedure.
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Published: 17 May 2025
