Autistic man living on dog food denied support by East Riding Council

The man was left unable to buy food or pay his bills after being told to wait six weeks for a pension credit payment

An autistic pensioner was left living on dog food after his benefits were stopped, according to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

The man was wrongly denied emergency financial support by East Riding Council, the organisation ruled.

Disruption to his support payments meant the man could not afford to eat or pay his utility bills.

The council agreed to apologise to the man and find out if he was entitled to any backdated support payments.

The complaint was one of 14 made against East Riding Council in the year to March, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The man's benefit payments were stopped when he became a pensioner and he was told he was eligible to claim pension credit - but would have to wait six weeks for the first payment.

The ombudsman found that the man, known only as Mr X, phoned the council to apply for help from its emergency assistance scheme in the meantime.

He spoke to a council officer, who did not ask if he needed any reasonable adjustments to how they were communicating due to his disability.

The LGO's report said the man explained "he could no longer afford to eat or pay his utility bills and that he had been eating dog food. He said he tried to apply online but the online form was not working".

The officer offered to help Mr X go through the application form, but when they found out he was still receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) the council staff member said that "it was clear he had income coming in and ended the call".

'Missed opportunity'

The ombudsman ruled that the council had a duty under the Equality Act to consider making reasonable adjustments to help Mr X use the service, and that it failed to do so.

It also found that the emergency assistance scheme did not say anyone who received benefits cannot apply for help and that "led to a missed opportunity for Mr X to apply for financial support he may have been eligible for".

Paul Najsarek, from the LGO, urged councils to "focus on learning from common faults and injustices" following a report into the 14 complaints in East Riding.

A spokesperson for the council said the organisation takes "any complaint seriously" and will "take necessary action".

"The council has acted upon the recommendations in all 14 cases upheld by the Ombudsmen.

"The ombudsman is satisfied that the council has complied with, and successfully implemented, its recommendations in all cases.

"We have also considered what lessons can be learned and where any service improvements can be made."