Birmingham criticised for 'losing' disabled girl in the system

A report by the Local Government Ombudsman found that the authority failed to contact the girl’s mother between November 2006 and March 2011 to assess the level of support being provided.

Social workers from the authority first identified the girl, who has complex needs including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyspraxia and communication difficulties, in November 2006 when she was seven years old.

Although an assessment of the girl’s and mother’s needs was not carried out, the authority provided 10 hours a month of support in the form of direct payments, the report said.

The council then “lost sight” of the girl between November 2006 and March 2011.

There was no assessment of her needs, nor consideration given to whether the 10 hours a month was adequate to meet her needs, and the needs of her mother.

When the council eventually contacted the family again in March 2011, a social worker’s assessment of the girl’s situation was “flawed”, and three further assessments between January 2012 and May 2013 were not carried out properly.

The mother complained to the ombudsman in December 2012 and the council agreed to carry out a core assessment – but it never took place.

By July 2013 the girl was 15 and her difficulties had increased, but the mother was still receiving the same amount of support as in 2006.  

Ombudsman Jane Martin said that for much of the girl’s life, her mother had been left to bring her up alone.  

“Birmingham City Council has had no idea what her needs were or those of her mother,” she added.  

“And when they made attempts to assess her, the council admits its service was poor, unsupportive and not focused on an outcome for the girl.

“The council has failed to provide me with evidence that it knows what this girl’s needs are, what her mother’s needs are as a carer and how those needs can be met in the future.  

“It has singularly failed to assess the family’s needs and cannot possibly say that the direct payments it has offered to the family are sufficient.”

The council has agreed to pay the mother £5,000 following the report – £4,000 for failing to properly assess the needs of the girl and her mother and £1,000 for the time and trouble in bringing the complaint to the ombudsman.

The council has also agreed to pay the mother compensation, at a level set by the ombudsman, for any shortfall in service received from August 2011 onwards following an independent assessment of the girl's needs.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "We have made improvements to our procedures, including increased senior management oversight and an updated system for responding to complaints, including the tracking of any follow-up action and gathering customer feedback.

“We have also put in place further staff training to improve quality of single assessments."