1 week Ago
A watchdog ordered a Norfolk council to pay a "symbolic payment" to a young man after mistakes were made over support he was given as a teenager. Norfolk County Council was told to pay £500 to the man, known as Mr M, after delays in starting an assessment when he, at the age of 16, said he was homeless and needed help. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman also criticised some poor record keeping and missed appointments when Mr M was living in supported housing.
Norfolk County Council's County Hall headquarters (Image: Mike Page) When Mr M became an adult, he complained the council had not provided him with adequate support when he was being abused at home and did not provide him with housing when he was homeless and sleeping in cars. The ombudsman found the correct procedure and assessment had been followed after initial contact with the man, when was 15. But it said the council had taken too long to do an assessment a year later, when he was 16 and said he was homeless.
In 2017, Mr M was provided supported living accommodation by the council, with Moving Up Care providing support. The ombudsman found record keeping had been poor and that Mr M had missed dental appointments and the last day of a tenancy awareness course, which the watchdog said was a finding of fault. Mr M had alleged a support worker had supplied him with drugs and did not take him to some appointments.
But the ombudsman said the support worker had denied that and there was "simply not the evidence to uphold this part of Mr M’s complaint". The watchdog also found fault with the way the council initially handled Mr M's complaint over the issues. Penny Carpenter, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for children's services (Image: Norfolk County Council) Penny Carpenter, cabinet member for children's services at Norfolk County Council said: "We are sorry to Mr M for the delays he experienced in 2015 regarding a child in need assessment and for our inadequate record-keeping.
"We fully accept the findings from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. We have apologised to Mr M and made the symbolic payment as directed. “Since then, we have improved our response times for child in need assessments and greatly strengthened our practice in meeting the needs of children and their families.
" Moving Up Care did not want to comment, but the council said record keeping had been improved..
