The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled his late mother’s financial contributions towards her care costs. We would not achieve anything further by investigating.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to inform his mother, Mrs Z, of the amount she needed to contribute toward the costs of her residential placement.
Mr X said this severely impacted Mrs Z’s wellbeing prior to her death.
He wants the Council to waive the outstanding amount Mrs Z’s estate owes, apologise and pay him compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Between November 2021 and May 2023, the Council carried out several financial assessments with Mrs Z and sent the outcome of these and the associated invoices by post to her old address, as well as the care home she was living in.
Following a complaint from Mr X, the Council apologised for sending correspondence to Mrs Z’s old address for around 18 months and reduced the contributions owed by Mrs Z during that period by 50%. This equated to around £8,400.
Mr X wants the full debt to be cancelled and compensation.
By law, the Council is entitled to charge for care which it arranges. There is no dispute Mrs Z received the care. The Council has reduced the amount owed by 50% and apologised. We would not seek to achieve anything more.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman