Lincolnshire County Council (20 004 464)

Statement Not upheld Charging 15-Mar-2021

Summary: There is no fault in the Council’s decision making during the financial assessment process. The Council has considered the law, guidance and reached a decision that deprivation of capital has occurred. The Council has reached a view on the amount of capital it will disregard without fault. New explanations of the gifting made at appeal had not been made to the Council before and it is at the Council’s discretion if it wants to consider a new assessment of this information.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (20 004 864)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 11-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the actions of the Council regarding her father’s, Mr C’s, financial assessment. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

Manchester City Council (20 010 109)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 11-Mar-2021

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his mother Mrs X paying a significant top-up payment for her nursing home placement since 2017. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

Staffordshire County Council (20 004 169)

Statement Not upheld Charging 09-Mar-2021

Summary: Miss X, Y’s legal deputy, complained on behalf of his estate that the Council failed to include various costs that should be regarded as Disability Related Expenditure in his financial assessment. She also questioned the Council’s calculation of Y’s Minimum Income Guarantee. We found no evidence of fault by the Council and for this reason we ended our investigation.

East Sussex County Council (20 002 657)

Statement Upheld Charging 09-Mar-2021

Summary: An advocate complained on behalf of Mr X about how the Council communicated changes to the charges for care it provides. There is no fault in how the Council communicated the changes including the decision not to carry out a face to face assessment. There was fault in respect of the setting up of a direct debit. The Council has apologised for the faults and credited an amount to Mr X’s account to acknowledge the time and trouble associated with this.

Peterborough City Council (20 002 999)

Statement Not upheld Charging 08-Mar-2021

Summary: There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision that Mrs X deliberately deprived herself of capital with the intention of decreasing her liability for care charges. The Council also considered whether Mrs X’s daughter had a beneficial interest in one property without fault. The Council is willing to consider any further evidence the family has and has paid Mrs X’s care charges until the complaint is decided.

Mr & Mrs A Mangaliji (19 012 054)

Statement Upheld Charging 08-Mar-2021

Summary: The Care Provider’s contract is not in line with the Competition and Markets Authorities (CMA) guidance about fair contract terms. The Care Provider has agreed to review its contract to ensure it is in line with CMA guidance and to apologise to Mr C for the uncertainty caused by its actions.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (20 001 072)

Statement Upheld Charging 05-Mar-2021

Summary: The Council was at fault for delaying in carrying out an assessment of Mrs Y and for the care she received at the care home. This resulted in it taking longer to establish Mrs Y’s care needs and uncertainty for her family concerning the level of care she received. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused.

Lancashire County Council (19 019 371)

Statement Upheld Charging 02-Mar-2021

Summary: The Council failed to communicate properly with the late Mrs X. Officers wrote to her at the wrong address and telephoned her when she could no longer speak. Its actions caused significant distress in Mrs X’s last months, and the Council will now apologise to her daughter Ms Y, review its processes and offer a sum in recognition of the distress.

Isle of Wight Council (20 006 407)

Statement Not upheld Charging 02-Mar-2021

Summary: There is evidence to show Mr and Mrs X agreed to Mr X’s discharge to a care home while Mrs X had surgery, and that the Council gave them proper information about the financial implications.