Mr A complained that the Council failed to support his late father financially with his care home fees when his assets fell before the capital threshold set by Welsh Government. Mr A said the Welsh Government threshold was set at £50,000 and had been at that level throughout the duration of his attempt to secure funding for his father’s care home fees, to which Mr A believed he was entitled.
Mr A was aggrieved that the Council had published incorrect and misleading information on its website, stating that the threshold was£30,000 (that threshold had been for 2017-2018). Mr A said that he was under the impression that his father was ineligible for financial assistance due to having £35,000 at the time (in 2022). He said it was only after he conducted further independent research that he was made aware of the inaccuracy of the Council’s guidance.
The Ombudsman was of the view that the guidance in question had misled Mr A regarding the threshold which was applicable at the time and therefore significantly delayed his contact with the Council to request the necessary assessment of his father’s eligibility. Mr A’s father sadly died before the necessary assessment could be undertaken.
As an Early Resolution of this complaint, and instead of undertaking a full investigation, the Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to take the steps necessary to determine the financial assistance due, if any, to Mr A’s father based on the information available regarding his health/needs and financial assets during the period in question (i.e. from when his financial assets fell below the £50,000 threshold applicable at the time).The Council agreed to undertake this action within 3 months.