Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council. There is no evidence to support the Council persuaded Ms C not to allow the complainant to move in with her. Ms C had capacity to make her own decisions about her care support; she chose to live alone and to pay for care.

The complaint

1. Mr B says the Council persuaded his relative, Ms C, to not allow Mr B to move in with her. Mr B says this has impacted Ms C’s quality of care and support. Mr B says Ms C does not go out anywhere, and Ms C is paying for care that would have been unnecessary had he moved in.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I considered the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated statutory guidance.

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My assessment

7. Mr B complains about events from December 2022. I have decided this is not a late complaint, because the Council delayed dealing with Mr B’s complaint and only recently responded.
8. Under the Mental Capacity Act all adults are presumed to have capacity to make their own decisions, unless there is significant evidence to suggest otherwise. Adults with capacity can make decisions that others think are unwise. The Council’s records show that in December 2022 Ms C had capacity to make her own decisions about her care support, where to live, and who (if anyone) would live with her. There is no evidence to support Mr B’s suggestion the Council unduly influenced Ms C’s decision making.
9. Ms C chose to live at home, on her own, with paid for care support visiting through the day and informal support from her family. It was open to Ms C at any time to change her mind if she wished Mr B to live with her.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council. Ms C had capacity to make her own decisions about who lived with her and about her care support. Ms C chose to have a package of care and to pay for care support. The Ombudsman could not achieve the outcome Mr B wants of the Council paying for the care support that Ms C chose.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman