Summary: The Council has agreed to amend the date at which Mrs X’s property value will be disregarded. I will not investigate this complaint further.

The complaint

1. Mr A and Mrs B complain about the Council’s assessment of their mother’s finances after she entered residential care; in particular they complain that the Council applied the wrong date at which to disregard the property value.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
3. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information provided by Mrs C. I also considered the Council’s response to my enquiries. Both Mrs B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft statement before I discontinued the investigation.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant law and guidance

5. The charging rules for residential care are set out in the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and councils should have regard to the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
6. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says, “A local authority must disregard the value of a person’s main or only home for 12 weeks in the following circumstances:

1. when they first enter a care home as a permanent resident “.

7. The guidance also says “a stay which was initially intended to be temporary could become permanent. In such cases, the financial assessment of the person as a permanent resident should only be from the date that the care plan is amended and agreed with the person and/or their representative.”

What happened

8. Mrs X is an elderly lady with a sight impairment and dementia. By May 2023 she was no longer able to manage at home alone and the Council arranged for a period of temporary respite care in a nursing home while her long-term needs were assessed. Mr A and Mrs B both hold power of attorney for Mrs X’s health and finances. Mr A owns half the property where Mrs X lived.
9. The Council’s records show contact from Mrs B to the Council in June explaining that Mrs X would like to stay in the care home as it would not be safe for her to return home. Mrs B asked for the next steps.
10. The Council says a social worker was allocated to complete a Care Act assessment and a financial assessment was also completed. Mr A and Mrs B put Mrs X’s house on the market.
11. When the Council issued invoices to Mrs B, the start date for the property disregard was the completion of the initial respite period. Mrs B complained to the Council. She said as far as she knew the only needs assessment had been completed in December. She said she had not been present at a care needs assessment which the Council said had taken place in August.
12. A team manager replied to Mrs B. She said a Care Act assessment was often not just a one-off meeting and the social worker confirmed that she had assessed Mrs X’s needs over a period of time but completed the assessment on 14 August. The team manager apologised that Mrs B had not been invited to that meeting but said the date at which the property would be disregarded would be moved to August 2023.
13. Mrs B complained to the Ombudsman. She said they had not been given proper information or invited to any assessment meetings until December 2023. She said the Council had made a decision about Mrs X’s property without taking into account that neither she nor Mr A had agreed to the permanent placement before December 2023, or Mr A’s half ownership of the house.
14. The Council has now agreed to move the date at which the property disregard begins to December 2023.

Back to top

Final decision

15. I have discontinued investigation of this complaint as further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman