Teenage siblings with significant needs were denied vital support for 18 months by Liverpool Council, a damning investigation has found.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised the local authority for failing to ensure it could connect a family with a provider that could bring about the appropriate support for two children, who have multiple disabilities including visual impairments and complex communication needs. An investigation by the Ombudsman has led to Liverpool Council being forced to pay out thousands of pounds in compensation.
A complaint was raised by the teenagers’ mother that between July 2020 and January of this year, the council had refused to pay the correct level of direct payments to secure required support and as a result, had failed to meet her children's assessed social care needs. The mother, known in the report as Miss X, said the council also failed to adequately deal with her complaint about the matter and then delayed putting things right after accepting fault.
