Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr and Mrs Y’s adult social care. Complaints relating to Mr Y are late and there is not a good reason for the delay in bringing these matters to the Ombudsman. We could not achieve a different outcome in relation to Mrs Y’s financial assessments and charging.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council made numerous errors in Mr and Mrs Y’s (his parents’) financial assessments. He said it failed to safeguard his father.
2. Mr X said the matter meant Mr and Mrs Y had to pay excess fees and Mr Y suffered several hospital admissions. Mr X said the events also caused him significant distress. Mr X said while the Council had apologised and corrected errors when highlighted, it had not recognised the cumulative impact of so many errors.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 or care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X’s complaint is partly about Mr Y’s care in 2023, and Mr X’s concern about the risk posed to him by a potentially inappropriate placement. Mr Y died in mid-2023. The law says people must complain to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter. I have accounted for some natural delay in Mr X complaining due to grief, however he first complained to the Council more than 18 months after the events (of which he was aware at the time). Mr X brought his complaint to us nearly two years after the events. There is not a good reason for the delay and we will not consider the complaint relating to Mr Y’s care now.
8. Mr X’s complaint is also about Mrs Y’s financial assessments. The Council has acknowledged errors via its internal complaints process. It identified Mrs Y had not been charged for the full cost of her care despite her property having been sold in early 2024. It accepted Mrs Y being undercharged was due to its error and it therefore decided to waive fees she should have paid after her property was sold. It also decided to continue charging her the local authority rate while it made amendments to its staff guidance.
9. Mr X says he suffered a significant injustice due to the cumulative impact of several errors. While Mr X may have experienced some inconvenience, Mrs Y benefitted significantly financially from the Council’s errors. It is not the role of the Ombudsman to place complainants in a better position than they would have been in but for fault. I am satisfied the Council’s decisions to waive fees, along with the apologies it has provided Mr X, recognise any injustice caused by fault in this case. We could not achieve a different, more meaningful outcome if we investigated the matter.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part of it is late, and we could not achieve a different outcome if we investigated more recent events.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman