Essex County Council (23 012 381)
Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Dec 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s adult social care charges because it is late.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council overcharged her son, Mr Y, for adult social care services from 2019 to 2021 as it did not consider his outgoings and expenses.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 was sent copies of Mr Y’s financial assessments each year. She thought his charges were too high but says she struggled to discuss this with the Council or gather evidence of his outgoings and expenses during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
- In 2022 Mrs X gave the Council further evidence of Mr Y’s finances and it reduced his charges considerably. However, it refused to backdate this reduction for the period 2019 to 2021.
- Mrs X has contacted the Ombudsman more than 12 months since she became concerned about the Council’s charges. Her complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman