Adults attempting to challenge social care decisions made by councils are being 'failed,' the national equalities watchdog has said.
An inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found local authority processes were confusing and slow, with risks that people do not get the care they need.
The EHRC said social care users and their families found making complaints ‘difficult and stressful' and some were deterred from seeking help by what the EHRC called a 'complicated system'.
EHRC chief executive Marcial Boo said: ‘The social care system in England and Wales is struggling, with people's needs being balanced against tight budgets.
‘While local authorities are facing huge pressures, they must protect people's rights when making decisions about their care.
'Effective ways for people to challenge those decisions are crucial to ensuring that good decisions are made and people's needs are met.'
The inquiry heard that some people were not given crucial information about how to challenge decisions and fewer than half of the local authorities surveyed always signposted users to independent advice or support.
It also found that there was poor collection and analysis of equality data, which undermines the ability of councils to understand how well they meet the social care needs of different groups.
The equalities watchdog called on the Government to make the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman the statutory complaints standards authority for adult social care in England and for it to receive new powers to initiate investigations into areas of concern without the need for individual complaints.
Ombudsman Michael King said: ‘If things go wrong, there should be transparent, effective and accessible procedures in place for people to challenge decisions made by their councils.
‘As the newly-empowered statutory complaints standards authority, we would ensure complaints were dealt with clearly and consistently across the country, and that lessons from complaints were properly scrutinised and embedded.'
