The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to inform Mrs X that she would be responsible for Mr X’s care fees. This is because the complaint relates to events that took place more than 12 months ago and it would have been reasonable for her to bring the complaint to us at the time.
The complaint
Mrs X complained that she has received an invoice for care fees incurred by her late husband Mr Y in 2020.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X received an invoice in April 2020 for care fees incurred by her husband Mr X after he received 1-1 care from a care provider.
In November 2020, her solicitors contacted the Council to complain about the invoice as she was not aware the care Mr X received was chargeable. The Council informed Mrs X that Mr X was not eligible for funding for 1-1 care.
In August 2023, Mrs X contacted the Council about the invoice again. She said the care provider was pursuing her for payment of the invoice and was threatening to take legal action. The Council referred Mrs X back to the care provider and confirmed its records showed it had not received a request for 1-1 funding for Mr X. Mrs X then brought the complaint to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman will not usually exercise discretion to investigate matters that took place more than 12 months ago unless there are good reasons for the delay in referring the complaint. In this case Mrs X has been aware of this matter since 2020. It would have been reasonable for her to bring the complaint to us much sooner. There is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate matters that took this long ago.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint relates to events that took place more than 12 months ago and it would have been reasonable for her to bring the complaint to us at the time.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman