A COUNCIL has paid out more than £10,000 to a mother who frequently had to take time off work to care for her adult disabled daughter.

The woman, who is only referred to as ‘Mrs X’ in an official ombudsman report, took Oxfordshire County Council to the local government watchdog over how it had handled the care situation for her daughter, who has a learning disability and suffers from seizures and anxiety.

She also complained the authority had not properly paid her for acting as a carer which had led to 'strain and financial difficulties'.

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The daughter, referred to as ‘Ms D’ in the report, had come back to live with her mother in April 2016 and the pair asked the council for a needs assessment for direct payments.

These are paid by local councils so those eligible for help can hire their own carers. But the family had concerns about the support plan proposed and never signed.

It was agreed in September 2016, however, that her mother, who worked full time, could be compensated for care she provided when other carers were not available.

By November this was noted as £175 a week, with this increasing to £350 the following month as her daughter at the time needed 24-hour support, though the hours she been compensated for were never specified.

The daughter moved out in June 2017.

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When the woman complained over missing pay the council said it would consider it if she provided if she provided timesheets.

The ombudsman found the authority had allowed the situation to ‘drift’ and had not been clear enough with either parent or child over how the payments would work.

It went on to say the council could have withdrawn the offer of direct payments if the support plan was not signed but did not.

It added: “The council agreed to pay the care invoices in the interim when Mrs X had not signed the agreement.

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"However, in doing this, it failed to clarify with Ms D and Mrs X what information it expected from them, what their responsibilities were and what the council’s role was.This led to confusion over who was actually the employer and what Ms D’s responsibilities were in relation to the personal budget.”

“It also failed to pay Mrs X properly when she acted as Ms D’s personal assistant."

The council agreed to pay the mother £9,100 to acknowledge the support she provided to her daughter between December 2016 and June 2017 at the equivalent of £350 a week.

They also agreed to pay her an additional £1,000 in 'recognition of the additional carer’s strain' the council’s faults caused her.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “We accept the findings made by the ombudsman and we have taken steps to ensure that all the recommended actions are being carried out.”