Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council wrongly charging Ms Y for her care and support. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why he did not complain sooner.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly charged his partner, Ms Y, for care and supported it provided to her in her home. Mr X said it caused them distress. He wants the Council to cancel the outstanding care charges.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms Y was admitted into hospital in April 2023. Ms Y was later discharged and returned home with a temporary package of care which the hospital had funded.
6. Towards the end of July 2023, the Council met with Ms Y and Mr X to discuss her long-term care and support needs. The Council said it was agreed at the meeting the current package of care was suitable for Ms Y and it told Ms Y and Mr X she would need to pay a contribution towards the costs. The Council continued to provide care and support to Ms Y until November 2023.
7. In February 2024, the Council completed a financial assessment with Ms Y. It later wrote to Ms Y and told her the amount of contribution she was required to pay. The Council told us it had delayed completing the financial assessment due to a lack of engagement from Ms Y and Mr X.
8. Mr X complained to the Council in May 2024 and said it did not tell him Ms Y had to pay a contribution towards her package of care. The Council responded to Mr X and said it had met with him and Ms Y in July 2023 and informed them there would be a contribution Ms Y would need to pay. It told Mr X there was an outstanding balance of approximately £2,400.
9. We will not investigate this complaint because it relates to matters which occurred in July 2023 which is more than 12 months ago. As outlined in paragraph two, we cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons why the complainant could not complain sooner. There are no good reasons why Mr X did not complain sooner.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons why he did not complain sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman