Vulnerable Disabled Man Caused Distress by Council Delays
Had to wait 10 months for his care assessment to be done
The man asked for assistance due to severe disrepair in his accommodation
September 23, 2026
A vulnerable disabled man living in the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham was left waiting 10 months for a care assessment. The council has apologised to the resident and offered him £750 in compensation after a watchdog intervention.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has asked the local authority to improve its service to ensure this doesn’t happen again in the future.
A decision published by the regulator said that the delay likely caused Mr X “distress, frustration and uncertainty”.
“I welcome that the council has recognised these failings, apologised and offered a symbolic financial remedy of £750 to recognise the injustice caused,” the report reads.
The resident, named Mr X in the report, contacted the council in March 2025 to ask for a Care Act assessment due to severe disrepair in his accommodation. Mr X said that this was having an impact on his health and wellbeing, compounded by his disability.
After no response, he complained to the council over their failure to complete this twice, in July and September. The council allocated a social worker in January 2026, who completed the assessment in early February.
Hammersmith and Fulham emailed Mr X to apologise over its failure to respond to his complaint. It also offered Mr X a financial remedy of £80 to recognise its poor customer service and the delays.
Mr X declined the council’s offer of six hours of care per week because he believed he was eligible for more support, according to the local authority. Following enquiries by the regulator, the council offered Mr X a larger symbolic payment of £750.
The report added: “We expect councils to complete assessments in a timeframe that is proportionate to the complexity of the issues, and normally within 4-6 weeks. Despite Mr X asking for a Care Act assessment in March 2025, it took the council until February 2026 to complete this. This significant delay was fault.”
The Ombudsman added that it could not say whether Mr X would have accepted the care package if the council had completed the assessment sooner.
It said that it could not investigate the offered care package as this was out of the timeline of the investigation.
The report adds: “The council acknowledged the significant delay in responding to Mr X’s request for an assessment. It said this was because of an oversight in allocating the request to the correct team and then a high level of demand on its services.
“The council said it would like to offer Mr X a symbolic payment of £750 to recognise the distress the delay caused him and his time and trouble in making the complaint.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter