Summary: There was a year’s delay by the Council in arranging the financial affairs of a person without capacity when family members with power of attorney stood down. This was fault and caused unnecessary concern, time and trouble. The Council will apologise, progress the application for deputyship, keep Ms X informed and ensure expenses are reimbursed when the deputyship is in place. The complaint is upheld.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about delay by the Council in arranging her uncle’s financial affairs when she stepped down from having power of attorney.
2. Ms X also raised concerns about her uncle’s care home closing and his move to a new care home.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have not investigated the change of placement as Ms X advised this is now resolved and her uncle is settled in his new care home.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information provided by Ms X and the Council.
7. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Ms X and her sister had power of attorney for their uncle. They stood down in Spring 2023 and the Office for the Public Guardian contacted the Council to request someone take over the Power of Attorney or apply for Deputyship.
9. The social worker was on extended leave so no progress was made by October 2023, when Ms X made a formal complaint. Ms X said the care home fees were also not being paid as no-one could access her uncle’s personal funds. Ms X said this meant she had to pay for her uncle’s transport to hospital, clothes and other items.
10. Eventually in March 2024 the Council transferred the matter of deputyship to its Community Prevention team. Ms X’s uncle moved to his new care home. A review in May noted he had settled well and had access to a personal allowance.
11. The Council’s response to my enquiries advised that both care homes added a personal allowance to the fees pending the funding situation being resolved. From the evidence I have seen this suggests Ms X had to pay from her own funds between Spring and Autumn 2023.
12. The Council acknowledged in its complaint response, and its response to my enquiries, there had been excessive delay. It said the deputyship was now being progressed. The Council confirmed provided Ms X can evidence her outgoings it will refund these from her uncle’s funds once the deputyship is in place.
13. The Council says it has raised learning from the complaint with the officer concerned and acknowledges the officer was undertaking other urgent work at the time which had an adverse effect on casework.

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Agreed action

14. The Council has already apologised to Ms X for the delays.
15. The Council should ensure it keeps Ms X informed about the progress of the application for deputyship at least every two months.
16. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
17. Once the deputyship is in place Ms X can submit evidence of her expenses for the Council to reimburse from her uncle’s funds. Given there will be a delay while the matter is considered by the court, we will not keep the file open or require evidence of this; but if Ms X experiences any difficulty, she can refer the matter back to the Ombudsman for further consideration.

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Final decision

18. I have completed my investigation. There was a year’s delay by the Council in arranging the financial affairs of a person without capacity when family members with power of attorney stood down. This was fault and caused unnecessary concern, time and trouble. I am satisfied the agreed actions set out above are a satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused. The complaint is upheld.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman