Croydon council told to pay £4K to mum of disabled kid it refused care

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Croydon council has been blasted after it refused to provide respite care for the mum of a disabled teenager, claiming it would cost the authority too much.

The council has been told to apologise to the mother and pay her £4,000 compensation by the Local Government Ombudsman.

The council argued that the care for the teen, who has autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and is largely non-verbal, would cost more than the average placement.

The mum took her case to the watchdog, saying she had not received adequate respite care since 2019 which had left her feeling exhausted.

Until he was 16, the teenager went to a specialist school which offered weekly overnight respite care.

After the school stopped providing this in December 2019 his mum found another provider but the council would not agree to the placement as it cost too much.

For three years the mum was forced to pay for limited respite care by cutting back on other care her son needed.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Councils have a duty to meet people’s assessed needs and cannot restrict the support they provide based purely on cost.

“In this case, a mother had no respite from solely caring for her teenage son because the council could not agree how much it would pay, despite a professional assessment deeming he most likely needed two-to-one care.”

Mr King added he was concerned with the way Croydon council handled the complaint which wasn’t resolved quickly as it should have been.

He told the council to apologise to the mother and pay her £4,000 for the loss of service, distress and time and trouble she went through.

It also must now provide the family with the money for respite care, at the same it was provided before it was withdrawn.

A council spokesperson said: “We accept the report findings and recommendations, and we are sorry that we didn’t provide this family with the proper support in arranging respite care.

“We have apologised and compensated them for the distress this has caused, and we are continually working to improve our services for children and adults with disabilities, and their families.”

Pictured top: Croydon town hall (Picture: Grahame Larter)