Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, and Wellbeing

Declarations of interest for this item:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Noted the findings of the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman’s public report (Ref: 24 014 203) Appendix 1.

2.    Approved the Council’s response and endorse the action plan set out in Appendix 2.

3.    Authorised the Director of Adult Social Care to provide evidence to the Ombudsman of the Council’s compliance with the recommendations by 19 November 2025.

4.    Agreed to that further assurance updates will be provided to the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel

Reasons for decision

The decision will ensure that the Council meets its statutory duty under Section 31(2) of the Local Government Act 1974 to formally consider the Ombudsman’s public report within three months of publication.

The recommendations also provide assurance that the Council is taking appropriate steps to address the issues identified, provide redress to those affected, and strengthen systems to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Alternative options considered

There are no alternative options. The Council is legally required to formally consider the Ombudsman’s report and to respond within the required timeframe.  It is not mandatory to follow the Ombudsman’s recommendations, but it is recommended that the Council does.

The Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing introduced the report.

The Cabinet Member stressed that the Council recognised the seriousness of the findings in this case. The Council fully accepted that mistakes were made and had apologised unreservedly for those errors. It was stressed that the Council had subsequently worked to improve both our Adult Social Care provision and our complaint handling practice.

It was explained that the Council provided care for thousands of residents every day in Haringey, often supporting people in very challenging and difficult moments in their lives. Feedback in all its forms was a critical tool for understanding how residents and their carers experienced that support. It was explained that it was vital that the Council learned from complaints and put things right quickly without residents needing to seek the support of the Ombudsman.

It was explained that historic practices had changed fundamentally since the events that gave rise to this case, noting that the Council no longer had a backlog of unread emails and safeguarding concerns were triaged in a timely manner. Relevant staff received training and complaint handling was improved.

The Council was focused on the right things, as set out in this report and also our Adult Social Care Improvement Plan and this it was determined to continue to improve delivery for residents and those who cared for them.

In response to comments and questions from Councillors Williams, Hakata, Cawley-Harrison, the following information was shared:

• It was explained that, when the Council became aware of the backlog, a dedicated team was established to reduce the backlog of unread emails and ensure that this issue was remediated.
  
  
• It was explained that there was a whole new management team in place and that there were now better lines of accountability and responsibility to ensure that referrals were triaged better. It was additionally noted that the Council had commissioned an external reviewer and asked for external auditors to monitor and evidence improvements to the service.
  
  
• It was explained that there was an acknowledgement of the seriousness of the issue and that the Cabinet recognised that there was a need to improve, and that the Council had apologised for the errors made.
  
  
• Assurance was provided that the triage lead to impact. It was explained that triage would take place within 48 hours; and that each case would be different in its response, but it was stressed that the Council would put protective measures in place immediately for complex cases, to ensure that they were safeguarded. It was noted that high risk cases would be referred to the safeguarding team to ensure safety.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Noted the findings of the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman’s public report (Ref: 24 014 203) Appendix 1.

2.    Approved the Council’s response and endorse the action plan set out in Appendix 2.

3.    Authorised the Director of Adult Social Care to provide evidence to the Ombudsman of the Council’s compliance with the recommendations by 19 November 2025.

4.    Agreed to that further assurance updates will be provided to the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel

Reasons for decision

The decision will ensure that the Council meets its statutory duty under Section 31(2) of the Local Government Act 1974 to formally consider the Ombudsman’s public report within three months of publication.

The recommendations also provide assurance that the Council is taking appropriate steps to address the issues identified, provide redress to those affected, and strengthen systems to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Alternative options considered

There are no alternative options. The Council is legally required to formally consider the Ombudsman’s report and to respond within the required timeframe.  It is not mandatory to follow the Ombudsman’s recommendations, but it is recommended that the Council does.