The county council has paid thousands of pounds to parents of a child with special needs following a 'service failure'.

Investigated by The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the council was forced to repay the cost of private social care to parents referred to as Mr and Mrs X after failing to provide suitable services for their child, called B.

The complaint said B, who has learning disabilities, was eligible for council-funded support - but due to delays in getting this, his parents paid out themselves, spending a “considerable amount” of money.

READ MORE: How big a pothole needs to be for Hampshire County Council to repair it

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: “We always try to do our very best to get things right first time for Hampshire residents, and we take any issues raised very seriously.

"Where we haven’t been able to resolve things directly with members of the public, we work closely with the Local Government Ombudsman to address the issue, to learn from our mistakes and improve our services along the way.

“In the case of B and his family, we have accepted in full the recommendations of the ombudsman, have apologised to the family of the person concerned and made the recompense as recommended by the ombudsman.

"Steps have also already been taken to apply the findings of this case.”

B, as the report refers to him, is a young adult with a learning disability with an education health and care plan (ECHP).

In 2021, while living at home with his parents, he attended college daily.

However, his parents said he was exhausted by the travelling and that it would be better if it was a residential placement during term time.

After a new social worker was allocated, the council decided it wouldn’t support a residential placement. After delays, Mr X said that sort of placement would be best for his son and complained there had been maladministration from the council – something it denied.

In January 2023, B’s parents told the social worker they were paying for their child’s private “buddy” scheme.

Still, the social worker was “unable” to find an available provider.

It was not until May 2023 that the council agreed a residential placement.

Three months later, the service manager apologised to the family in a response to a complaint.

Mr X said the costs they had paid for totalled £3,900.

The council paid £2,500 compensation to B's parents.