Luton Borough Council failed autistic resident says watchdog ordering payout
A local authority must apologise to an autistic Luton resident and pay him £200 over its handling of his request to communicate by email with him, according to a local government watchdog.
He complained to the local government and social care ombudsman in 2022 about Luton Borough Council’s failure to make adjustments, which would allow him to provide evidence on his liability for council tax.
The ombudsman found fault leading to his injustice. LBC agreed to provide training to staff about considering and implementing reasonable adjustments requests, said an ombudsman’s report.
“We found in 2023 the council failed to communicate properly with him in late 2021, which resulted in him missing the opportunity to be considered for a carer’s grant in 2022.
“LBC agreed to apologise and pay him £200 to recognise his distress. It would also consider allowing people to opt out of receiving encrypted emails, if that’s their preference.
“He complained about the council’s failure to arrange reasonable adjustments, when he applied for direct payments for a carer’s grant in 2025. Its failings caused him significant distress and affected his health, he claimed.
“Despite LBC’s previous agreement to apply communication adjustments and to improve its services, this didn’t happen. He complained to the council about continuing discrimination and the lack of adjustments for his disabilities.
“LBC should have been aware how stressful it was to communicate with people who were new to him. He also complained about a member of staff, who failed to respond to his correspondence.”
He asked the council to provide him with an email address, which he could use to apply for a carer’s grant in December 2024, explained the report. “After receiving a website link from LBC, he stated he’d be unable to use it.
“He repeated his request for an email address to the carers’ assessment team. The council said there wasn’t one he could use, and his carer’s needs would be reviewed anyway.
“But he could speak to the customer service centre, which would create a referral for him. Otherwise he could use a library and ask for its support to fill in an online portal form.
“He approached the ombudsman in February 2025. As the council had yet to respond to his complaint, we asked it to before deciding whether to investigate. His complaint was upheld by the local authority In March.
“LBC decided it should have dealt with his request in a more person-centred way. A manager dealing with the complaint apologised for the inadequate service and inconvenience caused to him, offering her email address for future correspondence.”
When communicating with him, the council failed to take proper account of his needs, added the report. “If LBC considered what he asked for was unreasonable, it should have clearly communicated that to him and explained its reasons.
“The council’s failure to respond properly to his request for communication adjustment was fault, which caused injustice. Its reoccurring failings significantly affected his well-being because of his vulnerability and needs.
“LBC should apologise for the injustice caused to him and pay £200 to recognise his distress, as well as arrange a review of communication adjustments he needs when using its services.”