Day of All Sorts

Today was almost appointment free just the car to pick up from the garage and kids to and from school. We managed to arrange collecting the car after collecting Eve...this meant e also manaed to havelunch...just me David and Eve...it was nice!
Got home just in tim to receive a phone call from the ombudsman. He is reading through a file from our Disrict Council that is apparantly 4 inches thick! However he has offferec to request writen permission for us to start our proposed works seeing as they have agreed that we can fund that using their proposed funds for their proposed works. Hopefully we will soon be seeing the begining of a change for the better.

Last evening on reading through the wonderfully useul book Community care and the Law and flicking through the online legislation and practice guidance I discovered that some of the issues we were having difdiculty being accepted by the council actually needed to have policies in place to address! Hmmmm, seeing as I had asked very specific questions in the past to do with some of these issues I was fairly confident our District council did not have policies with regard to them. So i set about writing an email to the council officer requsting a copy of those specific policies.
Today I received an email informing me there were no such policies in place

Tina,
We do not have policies on the specific areas that you request as Disabled Facilities Assistance is mandatory in accordance with central government legislation (Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 as amended by The Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002). This is supported by Good Practice Guides on the subject also from central government (Department for Communities and Local Government).

This is made clear in our Community Housing Renewal Policy (Section 7).

I have attached the Community Housing Renewal Policy and the latest Good Practice Guide on Delivering Housing Adaptations for Disabled People and I will also put hard copies of these in the post to you.

Oh I do love it when these professionals trip themselves up...I had been quoting from the practice guidance he so kindly attatched for my benefit so I attatched it right back at him with the relevant paragraphs hilighted...stating that the policies I was requesting should be in place!

Sadly I was not able to be a fly on the wall when he read my email...although I suspect it ent right over his head...they just dont seem to see the truth when it slams them in the face!

I am still confused....isn't it their remit to know the legislation and practice guidance that affects their role? Why is it I have to search through alof this alongside my own full time work as carer to show them where they are going wrong??? I am sure they do not expect me to though..and that is what spurs m on...knowing they do not expect the families to know the law and that is how they get away with it for so long! I plan on spreading the word, ensuring all families know their rights and how to ensure they have them upheld!
We are without a carer or a cleaner at the moment but thankfully Rosie has been having a good spell of behaviour and so long as she is under consant observation we are able to contain her behaviour till bd time.
I am still weary but feel a little bolstered by knowing that things are moving if very slowly with our problems with the council. having that email stating they have no policies is comforting! Knowing the LGO are now investigating helps too.
I do not know what the future holds but I am glad I know who holds the future.