Lambeth Council has upheld four complaints related to adult social care services, with remedies including apologies, financial redress, and requirements for policy updates and improved guidance. The findings were presented to the General Purposes Committee.
For the financial year 2025-26, Adult Social Care received 10 Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) complaints, with four proceeding to full investigation, all of which were upheld. The financial redress ranged from £200 to £1,000.
One upheld complaint detailed communication failures during a safeguarding enquiry. While the council acted appropriately in most aspects of its decision-making and use of evidence, fault was identified in its communication. Specifically, the council did not clearly set out the scope of the enquiry at an early stage or provide timely updates following key decisions.
This lack of clarity led the complainant to continue raising additional concerns in the expectation they would be included, resulting in avoidable uncertainty and distress.
The financial redress for this case was £200 for distress and uncertainty.
Another case involved financial maladministration in care charges. The council failed to manage the charging process appropriately by not ensuring the individual or family understood the financial implications of care or communicate effectively about accumulating debt until arrears were significant.
The application of interest and legal costs without a supporting policy was also identified as maladministration, resulting in financial injustice to the estate and avoidable time and trouble for the complainant.
Remedies included a £300 payment for distress and time/trouble, and a refund of interest and legal costs.
As a result of these financial maladministration findings, the council has reviewed and updated its Income and Debt Recovery policy, along with its financial assessment and charging guidance
to ensure clearer information for service users.
A service failure was identified in housing repairs for a disabled tenant. The council failed to properly consider her disability-related needs when replacing a shower, specifically her reliance on variable pressure
which the replacement shower lacked. The outcome of inadequate record-keeping and communication included no reliable records of contact or repair visits,
and the complaint handling was inadequate with delays and a failure to address key issues.
This resulted in the complainant being without suitable equipment for a prolonged period and caused avoidable distress, inconvenience, and confusion.
The financial redress for this case was £200 for distress and £300 for repair and complaint handling failures. In response, Vulnerable Tenants Guidance for housing staff was reviewed, updated and redistributed.
The final upheld complaint concerned a failure to meet the assessed needs of a disabled adult in accommodation. The council failed to adequately consider professional assessments, including occupational therapy advice,
and the individual remained in unsuitable accommodation for a prolonged period despite clear evidence of its limitations.
Specific risks that were not adequately managed included the impact of the unsuitable accommodation on the individual's wellbeing.
The council also failed to consistently involve the individual's representative
and its complaint handling was not in line with policy. The financial redress for this case was £1,000. To address this, a Temporary Accommodation Panel, led by Housing, is now in place and meets twice weekly
with senior managers from Adult Social Care attending, and the scope of this panel is being reviewed to incorporate Adult Social Care's role and input.
For the current financial year (April-May 2026), no LGSCO complaints had been received by Adult Social Care to date. The committee was asked to endorse the continued oversight of complaint and LGSCO report findings through the Integrated Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee. The report can be found in the Public reports pack Thursday 23 July 2026 20:30 General Purposes Committee.
