Decision Report 201803480

Summary

Mr C manages a direct payment on behalf of his son and he complained to the council about their procedures. Mr C complained that the council's financial monitoring procedures were not sufficiently robust to ensure that he can manage the direct payment appropriately. He said he was wrongly accused of spending the money inappropriately and that the council's monitoring procedures are not 'light touch' as the Scottish Government advises they should be; he also said that the council failed to make reasonable support and guidance available to him as a personal assistant employer. Mr C said it was not clear what he could and could not spend the direct payment budget on and that the council were not keen to fund a membership for a support service, which he required.

The council said that it is not always possible to list every item that might be permitted in a person's support plan, however, there is a system in place whereby if the finance department wanted to query an item of expenditure they would contact the allocated social worker. The council also provided details of the different ways they support personal assistant employers.

We took independent social work advice and found that the policies and procedures the council had in place were reasonable and there was clear information provided about the support that was available. The council's financial monitoring procedures were appropriate and reasonable, and there was evidence that the council provided the appropriate funding for support services to Mr C. We did not uphold the complaints.