WARRINGTON Borough Council made a ‘small payment’ in two adult social care-related cases after property belonging to residents was lost.

The council, along with other local authorities across the country, has featured in the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s annual review of adult social care complaints.

In total, there were nine adult social care-related complaints and enquiries against the authority over 2017-18.

Two were in relation to assessments and care planning, four over residential care, two over home care and one over charging.

It has been confirmed that the Ombudsman investigated six complaints, with five upheld.

A council spokesman said: “We take all complaints seriously and complainants always have the right to make representations to the Ombudsman, if they are not satisfied once the complaints process is exhausted.

“A number of the complaints related to justifying decisions made, for example regarding charging, and some decisions needed to be retaken, though were not changed.

“Others related to issues with commissioned services, where we had already apologised to the complainant and discussed the incident with the services involved to prevent recurrences.

“In two cases, a small payment was made as restitution to the complainant where the resident’s property had been lost.”

Cllr Pat Wright, executive board member for statutory health and adult social care, has highlighted the budget pressures facing the authority amid increasing demand for services.

She said: “The council provides thousands of hours of care and support from a wide range of care providers across the borough.

“This is carried out with a diminishing level of resources, in a sector where there is a national focus on services being at tipping point.

“As such, we are proud to have been able to provide a high level of quality services in Warrington, resulting in a relatively low level of intervention from the Ombudsman.

“The council will continue to work with providers to ensure the level of care is maintained and improvements are made where necessary in the future.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at complaints about councils and adult social care providers across the country.