Guidance on choosing accommodation and additional payments - Choice that cannot be met and refusal of arrangements
- Whilst a local authority should do everything it can to meet a person’s choice, inevitably there will be some instances where a choice cannot be met, for example if the provider does not have capacity to accommodate the person. In such cases, a local authority must set out in writing why it has not been able to meet that choice and should offer suitable alternatives. It should also set out the detail of the local authority’s complaints procedure and if and when the decision may be reviewed.
- A local authority must do everything it can to take into account a person’s circumstances and preferences when arranging care. However, in all but a very small number of cases, such as where a person is being placed under guardianship under Section 7 of the Mental Health Act 1983, a person has a right to refuse to enter a setting whether that is on an interim or permanent basis. Where a person unreasonably refuses the arrangements, a local authority is entitled to consider that is has fulfilled its statutory duty to meet needs and may then inform the person in writing that as a result they need to make their own arrangements. This should be a step of last resort and local authorities should consider the risks posed by such an approach, for both the authority itself and the person concerned. Should the person contact the local authority again at a later date, the local authority should reassess the needs as necessary and re-open the care and support planning process.