Redcar and Cleveland Council have apologised after failing to provide respite care for the family of a boy with complex special educational needs which include Autism.

The mother of the boy, who herself has Autism and other medical conditions, complained that the council failed to provide the respite care it agreed they were entitled to, even when she was in hospital.

The boy had three-to-one overnight care until April 2020, when his provider ended its package following an incident with the boy. In July that year the council agreed to increase the amount of overnight provision to 74 nights per year, via a different specialist service. However, the provider suspended its service the same month because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The only alternative the council could offer was a provider that would care for the boy in the family home, but the mother had concerns about the level of care and support it could offer.

Overnight care was not provided to the family until June 2021. But in August that year, the mother told the council she could not cope with her son’s level of need, and the next month the respite was cancelled because of staff sickness.

In July of this year, the boy started a full-time residential placement, but this has since fallen through as it was felt this could not meet the boy’s needs. The boy remains a ‘looked after child’, and the council is proactively seeking a new placement for him.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: ‘This family – and the mother in particular – have experienced significant stress and strain because of the council’s failure to put in place the respite support they so clearly needed.

‘While I appreciate the difficulties the council faced sourcing appropriate support during the height of the pandemic, it still had a legal duty to provide the agreed care.

‘I’m pleased the council has accepted my recommendations, and hope the new respite facility it is creating will ensure other families are not left in a similar position in future.’

A council spokesperson said: ‘We accept the findings of the Ombudsman and have apologised and paid the recommended compensation for distress caused by the non-availability of respite provision.’