A borough council in Lancashire was more than a decade late in introducing a policy outlining how it supports disabled people to use its services, Ombudsman finds.
Following a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in April 2021, Ribble Valley Borough Council agreed to the Ombudsman’s recommendation to put a reasonable adjustments policy in place by the end of July 2021, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
However, despite the Ombudsman chasing 16 times for evidence, the local authority still could not show it had implemented the policy until May 2022.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: ‘At no time in the investigation process did the council tell us it was struggling to comply with our recommendation because of the pandemic, despite us checking whether this might be a factor. But it has now told us this was the reason for the delay.
‘We recognise COVID-19 has been a challenge for local authorities, but they have had a duty to ensure reasonable adjustments are made for its service users since the Equality Act 2010 came in, so it was disappointing to see that as late as 2021 the council still had no policy in place.’
‘The council’s lack of urgency is likely to have had significant consequences for some of its most vulnerable residents over many years,’ he added.
Ribble Valley Borough Council chief executive Marshal Scott said: ‘We accept the Ombudsman’s findings and have put policies in place in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.’
