Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to send him copies of his father’s Care and Support Plan, failed to provide any idea of costs for his care or complete financial assessments. Mr X also complained the care provider only provided single-handed care despite the Council billing for double-handed care. And, Mr X complained about how the Council handled his complaint and application of weekly administration charges to his father’s billing without notice. We found fault with the Council in all aspects of Mr X’s complaint which caused an injustice to Mr X and his father. The Council agreed to our recommendations. This included providing an apology and £1,000 payment to Mr X for the distress, frustration and lost opportunity caused by the Council’s fault and removal of the care arrangement fees up to 27 September 2024. The Council also agreed to provide a breakdown of the billing and a list of care visits completed to Mr X. And, the Council agreed to ensure the information in its policy and on its website was consistent and to remind staff to provide Care and Support Plans to service users, to complete financial assessments in a suitable timescale and to provide early information about the care arrangement fees to service users.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to send him copies of his father’s Care and Support Plans, providing an idea of the costs in his care package, before putting in place the care and sending invoices.
2. Mr X complained the Council has also failed to facilitate a face-to-face appointment with the finances team for information and completion of the financial assessment form.
3. Mr X also complained the care provider, arranged for his father by the Council, failed to provide double handled care as detailed in the Care and Support Plan. Mr X said the care provider only provided single-handed care until 9 August 2024. Mr X also complained the Council has billed for double-handed care.
4. Mr X also complained the Council applied weekly administration charges to his father’s bills without warning.
5. Mr X also complained the Council has delayed providing complaint responses.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. 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)
7. 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(1), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Rules and regulations

Charging for social care

10. A council has a duty to arrange care and support for those with eligible needs, and a power to meet both eligible and non-eligible needs in places other than care homes. A council can choose to charge for non-residential care following a person’s needs assessment. Where it decides to charge, the council must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care Act statutory guidance. (Care Act 2014, section 14 and 17)
11. Where a council has decided to charge for care, it must carry out a financial assessment to decide what a person can afford to pay. It must then give the person a written record of the completed assessment. A council must not charge more than the cost it incurs to meet a person’s assessed eligible needs.
12. Councils should carry out assessments over a suitable and reasonable timescale considering the urgency of needs and any variation in those needs. Councils should tell people an indicative timescale over which their assessment will be conducted and keep the person informed throughout the assessment process. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance, paragraph 6.29)
13. Councils should ensure there is sufficient information and advice available in a suitable format for the person’s needs, in line with the Equality Act 2010, to ensure that they or their representative are able to understand any contributions they are asked to make. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance, paragraph 8.3)

Personal budgets

14. Everyone whose needs the council meets must receive a personal budget as part of the Care and Support Plan. The personal budget gives the person clear information about the money allocated to meet the needs identified in the assessment and recorded in the plan. The council should share an indicative amount with the person, and anybody else involved, at the start of care and support planning. It should confirm the final amount of the personal budget through this process. The detail of how the person will use their personal budget will be in the Care and Support Plan. The personal budget must always be enough to meet the person’s care and support needs.
15. There are three main ways a personal budget can be administered:
• as a managed account held by the council with support provided in line with the person’s wishes;
• as a managed account held by a third party (often called an individual service fund or ISF) with support provided in line with the person’s wishes; or
• as a direct payment.
  (Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014)

The Council’s process

16. The Council’s process details that following creation of a Care and Support Plan for a person it can refer this matter to the financial assessment team for completion of the form. The Council’s process includes no reference to any timeframe in which this should be completed.
17. The Council’s website says that during a financial assessment it will consider a person’s financial situation to work out how much a person has to pay towards the cost of their care. The Council says if a person chooses not to share financial details with the Council this means that will have to pay the full cost of the care.

Complaints procedure

18. The Council handled Mr X’s complaint under its Adult Social Care complaints procedure.
19. The Council’s complaints procedure says if it cannot resolve a complaint as an early resolution it will log a formal complaint. The Council says its aim is to complete most complaints within 25 working days but some may take longer.
20. The Council says if a person is not satisfied with its response they will consider if a further investigation is needed. The Council does not provide a timescale for this further investigation.

What happened

21. I have summarised below some key events leading to Mr X’s complaint. This is not intended to be a detailed account of what took place.
22. On 13 February 2023, the Council completed a care assessment of Mr X’s father and produced a Care and Support Plan. The Council did not share this Care and Support Plan with Mr X or his parents until 9 March 2023. This Care and Support Plan detailed:
• Mr X’s father needed care from 20 February 2023 consisting of 4 calls each day made up of 2 carers following discharge from hospital.
• The personal budget for Mr X’s father’s care would be £557.55 each week with a maximum budget of £630 each week.
• It discussed with Mr X and Mr X’s mother the need to complete a financial assessment and that Mr X’s father’s care may be chargeable.
23. Mr X has confirmed that in March 2023 a member of the Council contacted him and verbally confirmed the cost of his father’s care.
24. On 9 March 2023, Mr X’s father cancelled the care.
25. Mr X’s father returned to hospital in June 2023. The Council completed a further care assessment of Mr X’s father on 3 July 2023 producing a further Care and Support Plan. The Council did not share this Care and Support Plan with Mr X or his parents. This Care and Support Plan detailed:
• Mr X’s father again needed care consisting of 4 calls each day made up of 2 carers.
• Mr X’s father needed this care from 7 July 2023.
• It discussed with Mr X that Mr X’s father would need to contribute to costs but did not confirm the exact amount of these charges.
26. The Council passed this matter to its financial assessment team who contacted Mr X and liaised about completion of a financial assessment. On 18 July 2023, Mr X confirmed with the Council he would not complete the financial assessment forms until the Council completed the assessment of his father’s needs. Mr X said he would contact the Council to complete the form after the agreement over the care package. Mr X stated that he believed his father would need to pay the full cost of the care.
27. The Council finished the Care and Support Plan on 31 July 2023. This confirmed the Council told Mr X his father’s care would be chargeable. The Council did not share this Care and Support Plan with Mr X or his parents.
28. Mr X’s father re-entered hospital on 2 August 2024 being discharged on 9 August 2024. The Council created a new Care and Support Plan for Mr X’s father on 19 August 2024.
29. In August 2024, Mr X contacted the Council twice to advise he was supposed to have meetings with the financial assessment team to discuss his father’s care charges but this has not happened. Mr X said he said it was likely his father would need to pay the full cost of care.
30. On 5 September 2024, the Council wrote to Mr X to advise it had assessed his father’s contributions towards his care from 20 February 2023 to 8 March 2023 and from 7 July 2023 onwards and provided details of his father’s costs. The Council asked Mr X to provide any extra information so it could adjust the care contributions.
31. Following contact from Mr X on 12 September 2024, the Council told Mr X to complete and return the financial assessment form. Mr X also informed the Council at this time the care provider was only providing single handed care.
32. On 18 September 2024, Mr X returned the completed financial assessment form. Mr X also queried if his father needed double-handed care. The Council contacted the care provider who confirmed Mr X’s father’s needs required double-handed care. The Council issued invoices for Mr X’s care up to 31 August 2024 on 18 September 2024 and 19 September 2024. The Council issued this billing based on the current assessed charges and did not bill for any arrangement fees.
33. Mr X contacted the Council on 25 September 2024 to reiterate the care provider was only providing single-handed care.
34. The Council completed a financial assessment of Mr X’s father on 27 September 2024 and wrote to Mr X with the outcome. The Council said:
• Mr X’s father had savings above the threshold and was therefore a self-funder.
• Mr X’s father’s contribution from 20 February 2023 to 8 March 2023 was £500.08 each week.
• Mrs X’s father’s contribution from 7 July 2023 to 30 June 2023 was £603.54 each week.
• Mr X’s father’s contribution from 1 July 2024 was £637.56 each week.
• Mr X’s father needed to pay an arrangement fee of £57.60 each week and asked Mr X to complete and sign the care arrangement form.
35. On 29 September 2024, Mr X made complaints to the Council and care provider.
36. In Mr X’s complaint to the care provider he said it was only sending one carer from 7 July 2023 to 9 August 2024 rather than two carers. Mr X said he would have contacted sooner but did not receive the Care and Support Plan from the Council until this month. Mr X confirmed he was satisfied with the quality of the care but the care provider had billed for two carers when it only sent one.
37. In Mr X’s complaint to the Council he said:
• His father started to receive care from 20 February 2023 following discharge from hospital but he did not receive the Care and Support Plan or information about the cost of care until 9 March 2023.
• Once his father realised the cost of the care, he cancelled the care.
• The Council has not sent an invoice for this care cost until this month.
• His father started to receive care again from 7 July 2023.
• The Council failed to provide a Care and Support Plan or costs of care.
• The Council failed to arrange a meeting with the finance department.
• The care provider was only sending one carer rather than two carers as billed by the Council.
• Mr X’s father was hospitalised from 2 August 2024 to 9 August 2024.
• Following discharge from hospital on this occasion, the Council sent a Care and Support Plan on 5 September 2024. The care provider has been sending two carers since 9 August 2024.
38. On 1 October 2024, Mr X’s father went back into hospital. Despite being discharged on 2 October 2024 he returned to hospital on 3 October 2024 and remained there until a discharge to a nursing home. Mr X cancelled the care at home on 3 October 2024.
39. On 10 October 2024, the Council sent copies of the Care and Support Plans to Mr X. The Council also issued the first bill for “care arrangement” fees on this date.
40. On 31 October 2024 the Council issued a complaint response. The Council said:
• It has a 30-day period of assessment and completion of Care and Support Plans following discharge from hospital so receiving the Care and Support Plan 18 days following discharge was in line with its procedures.
• It sent an invoice dated 18 September 2024 to Mr X which detailed charges of £1,203.16 for the time period 20 February 2023 to 8 March 2023.
• It did not issue invoices before September 2024 because it had not been notified about Mr X's father’s financial situation.
• It sent the first Care and Support Plan for the time period from July 2023 on 10 October 2024. The Council apologised for this delay.
• It had no records of an agreed meeting with Mr X about his father’s financial assessment.
• It has reviewed the care logs provided by the care provider and said the care provider completed most of these care calls double-handed but has noted some discrepancies. The Council advised it would be following this up with the care provider.
41. Mr X sought consideration of his complaint at Stage 2 on 21 November 2024. Mr X said:
• He had been in repeat contact with the Council about trying to arrange a financial assessment meeting.
• The Council sent an invoice for the February 2023 to March 2023 care 19 months late.
• The delay in the Council providing a copy of the Care and Support Plan meant Mr X was not given opportunity to discuss what his father’s care needs were with knowledge of the cost. Mr X says this denied them the opportunity to consider only one carer each day rather than two carers.
• He maintained that the care provider only provided one carer each day for his father’s care until August 2024.
• He has received no response from the care provider about his complaint and believes the Council should be looking into this.
42. The Council provided a Stage 2 complaint response to Mr X on 7 February 2025. The Council said:
• It cannot issue an invoice until it has completed a financial assessment.
• It told Mr X many times from February 2023 to September 2024 about the need for Mr X to complete a financial assessment, but Mr X declined this.
• Mr X refused a visit on 18 July 2023 from its financial assessment team and it next made contact on 28 August 2024.
• The care provider has confirmed it has overcharged Mr X for a second carer and is in the process of completing a comprehensive review and crediting back any overcharge.
43. On 4 July 2025, the Council credited £6,665.81 to charges raised following a recalculation by the care provider. The Council provided no explanation of how it calculated this credit.

Analysis

Care and Support Plans

44. It is important councils give sufficient information to a person about paying for care at an early stage. This is to enable informed decision making. Where a council is not able to complete a prompt financial assessment it should still give appropriate written general information about the likelihood of needing to make a contribution towards care costs. This information can be contained within a person’s Care and Support Plan.

20 February 2023 to 9 March 2023

45. The Council completed a care assessment of Mr X’s father on 13 February 2023. During this assessment, the Council confirmed with Mr X that his father may need to contribute towards the cost of his care.
46. It was not until 9 March 2023 the Council shared Mr X’s father’s Care and Support Plan with him. On this date, the Council gave Mr X information the cost of his father's care would be between £557.55 per week and £630 per week. Based on this information, Mr X’s father decided to stop receiving the care.
47. The Council has told Mr X it has a 30-day period of assessment and completion of Care and Support Plans following discharge from hospital. The Council has not supported this through provision of a policy. While the Council has not been able to evidence this as a formal policy it holds, I do not consider the timeframe is unsuitable. Notably, 18 days is not an unsuitable timeframe for telling a person about the likely cost of their care following discharge from hospital.
48. Since the Council told Mr X his father’s care could be chargeable from the outset and provided specific financial information 18 days into provision of care through the personal budget, I consider the Council has provided suitable information about the costs of this care. I do not find fault.

7 July 2023 to 2 August 2024

49. The Council completed a care assessment of Mr X’s father on 3 July 2023 and 31 July 2023. During the second assessment, the Council confirmed with Mr X that his father may need to contribute towards the cost of his care.
50. The Council has accepted it failed to share the Care and Support Plans from 3 July 2023 and 31 July 2023 with Mr X until 10 October 2024. This meant the Council failed to provide Mr X with specific information about the potential cost of care until September 2024, when the Council issued the first billing. This was fault. The Council should remind staff in its Adult Social Care service to share Care and Support Plans with service users as soon as possible.

9 August 2024 to 4 October 2024

51. The Council produced a new Care and Support Plan for Mr X’s father on 19 August and shared this with Mr X on 5 September 2024. By this, the Council had told Mr X on repeat occasions that his father’s care may be chargeable and the Council shared the completed Care and Support Plan within 17 days of production of the plan. This Care and Support Plan included a Personal Budget of £637.56.
52. Using the same rationale detailed in paragraphs 45 to 48, I do not find fault with the Council’s handling of the Care and Support Plans from 9 August 2024 to 4 October 2024.

Financial assessments

53. The Council has a duty to provide clear information about charging and the financial assessment process, in a format service users can understand.
54. The Care Act 2014 does not specify a timeframe in which councils should complete a financial assessment. However, our view is that it should be completed within an appropriate and reasonable timeframe, in line with the requirements set out in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance (paragraph 6.29). This allows people to know how much they may need to contribute to the costs of their care at the relevant time, so they can make an informed choice about what they want.
55. The Council failed to complete a correct financial assessment of Mr X’s father until 27 September 2024 following receipt of the financial assessment form from Mr X. The only prior financial assessment was completed in the same month, on 5 September 2024, which was a provisional financial assessment from the Council. This is despite Mr X’s father’s being receiving care since February 2023.
56. I appreciate the Council’s financial assessment team completed Mr X’s Father’s assessment promptly after receiving return of the financial assessment form from Mr X. However, there was a significant delay by the Council in completing a provisional assessment of Mr X’s father before return of the form in September 2024.
57. This delay meant it took the Council 18 and a half months since starting to provide care in February 2023 and 14 months since starting care in July 2023 to complete Mr X’s financial assessment. That was too long and amounts to fault. The Council should remind staff about completing financial assessments within an appropriate and reasonable timeframe, in line with the requirements set out in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
58. In the circumstances of the charges from 20 February 2023 to 9 March 2023, when the Council completed the financial assessment, it determined that Mr X’s father’s care costs were £500.08. This is below the amount the Council told Mr X verbally in March 2023 and contained within the shared Care and Support Plan. As such, any delays in completing the financial assessment have not caused a injustice to Mr X’s father for the time period 20 February 2023 to 9 March 2023 because the costs are lower.
59. However, Mr X had no awareness of the specific cost of the care put in place from July 2023 until September 2024. This caused Mr X frustration and uncertainty. It also meant he could not make an informed choice about his father’s care at the relevant time.
60. I do not find fault with the timescales involved in completing a financial assessment following Mr X’s discharge from hospital on 9 August 2024. This was completed within one month of the discharge and was not an unsuitable timescale.
61. However, when the Council produced the provisional financial assessment on 5 September 2024 it did not include the full-cost of Mr X’s father’s care. The Council says its policy is not to “full-cost” service users based on assumptions and will complete initial assessments based on income verified from the Department for Work and Pensions. Since Mr X had not returned the financial assessment form this meant the assessment was incorrect and the Council only confirmed the correct charges on 27 September 2024. The Council, may, include within its policy a practice of not full-costing service users. However, the Council’s website states that if a person chooses not to share financial details they will have to pay the full cost of the care. This means the information on the Council’s website contradicts the policy approach the Council is taking. This is fault. The Council may choose whichever approach it considers correct but must be consistent about its approach and the information it puts within its policy and on the website.

Billing

62. Because of the Council’s delayed financial assessments, this meant the Council also delayed provision of billing for Mr X’s father’s care.
63. The Council produced the first bills for Mr X’s father care on 18 and 19 September 2024. This meant the Council delayed billing Mr X for any of his father’s care for 18 and a half months since starting care in February 2023 and 14 months since starting care in July 2023. This was fault.
64. This fault would have caused Mr X distress because of the large balance detailed within this billing when produced.
65. The Council has since cancelled the billing produced in September 2024 and replaced this in October 2024 and November 2024 using the correct financial assessment. I do not find fault with the Council cancelling the billing and replacing this with correct charges.
66. However, the Council has a duty to provide clear and transparent billing for people receiving care. I have reviewed the billing produced by the Council and this is not transparent or clear. This billing only includes start and end dates for charges and the total charge. There is no information included about the rate of charges and no information about whether the Council has not charged Mr X’s father’s care during his time in hospital. This is fault.

Double-handed care

67. Mr X also complained the care provider failed to provide double-handed care for his father despite the Council billing for this. Mr X said he did not realise the care provider was meant to provide double-handed care because the Council did not provide the Care and Support Plan.
68. The Council has provided contradictory information about the level of care provided. Within its complaint responses it has advised the care logs showed discrepancies over the provision of care meaning double-handed care was not always provided. On the back of this, the Council has removed £6,665.81 worth of care charges in July 2025 for the period 7 July 2023 to 28 July 2024. However, when asked by the Ombudsman, the care provider has told the Council it completed all visits double-handed.
69. It is clear the Council has accepted double-handed care was not always provided by the removal of the care charges in July 2025. However, the application of this credit is neither clear or transparent over what charges the Council has removed. This is a continuation of the fault identified in paragraphs 62 to 66. It may be the Council’s credit application is accurate but neither Mr X nor the Ombudsman can determine this from the Council’s billing.

Corrective action for delayed financial assessment and care billing

70. The Ombudsman’s approach to remedying injustice caused by fault with the information the Council gave about paying for care, is that we will not normally ask the Council to waive the charges. That is because the person received the care and should expect to make some contribution, unless there is compelling evidence of entirely misleading advice. I did not find that was the case here for Mr X’s father’s care charges.
71. The Council was entitled to charge Mr X’s father for his care costs, and it is clear Mr X knew they may have to contribute towards the cost of care. After a financial assessment, the Council is also entitled to backdate the charges to the time the care and support started.
72. But Mr X suffered distress, frustration and lost opportunity as a result of the Council’s failings. I recommend the Council provides a symbolic financial remedy as a credit to the account for the fault’s highlighted in paragraphs 50, 57, 63, 66 and 69.
73. The Council should also provide Mr X with a clear and transparent breakdown of the billing produced for his father’s care. This breakdown of the billing should detail the time periods the Council has billed for, the rates it has applied and resultant charges. This should also clearly highlight where the Council has removed charges because of lower than the expected amount of care provided by the care provider resulting in the credit note in July 2025. The Council should also show any credits resulting from the Ombudsman’s recommendations.
74. The Council should provide Mr X with a list of the care visits completed by the care provider for his father’s care since February 2023 so he can cross-reference this with the breakdown of the Council’s billing.

Care Arrangement fees

75. The Council has shown that it told Mr X that his father’s care charges would be chargeable. As explained in paragraph 70 this meant Mr X had an expectation that his father would need to contribute towards the cost of this care and there was no misleading advice about this.
76. However, there is no evidence the Council told Mr X about the care arrangement fee the Council applies until the earliest of 27 September 2024. This was fault. Even the previous financial assessment letter completed on 5 September 2024 did not contain information about this fee. And, the Council only sent the care arrangement fee agreement form for Mr X to return and sign on 27 September 2024. As such, Mr X could have no expectation the Council would apply an arrangement fee and did not agree to pay this fee.
77. Given that Mr X’s father was a self-funder and could have arranged his care privately, failure to tell Mr X about this fee meant Mr X’s father lost this opportunity to avoid paying this fee. I would consider a failure by the Council to disclose the care arrangement fee for over 18 months is misleading and has come at the expense of Mr X’s father.
78. The Council should remove any care arrangement fees applied to Mr X’s care charges from February 2023 up to 27 September 2024. The Council can apply this fee after this date since it told Mr X about this fee. The Council should remind staff from its Financial Assessment teams to provide information about this fee before, or as soon as possible after, a person starts to receive care.

Customer service

79. Mr X has complained the Council failed to attend a meeting with him to discuss his father's financial assessment. The Council is under no duty to arrange an in person meeting with a person to discuss a financial assessment. As such, I cannot find the Council at fault for this.
80. The Council discussed the financial assessment with Mr X in March 2023 and July 2023 and prompted him to return the financial assessment forms at this point. I do not find fault with the Council’s actions.
81. However, in 2024, Mr X contacted the Council on several occasions to try to discuss the financial assessments but did not receive suitable opportunity from the Council to discuss this matter; this was fault.
82. Mr X has also complained about the Council’s handling of his complaint.
83. The Council’s complaints procedure says it will aim to respond to complaints within 25 working days at Stage 1.
84. Mr X lodged his first complaint with the Council on 29 September 2024. This meant the Council had until 4 November 2024 to provide its response. The Council provided a complaint response on 31 October 2024. The Council acted in line with its complaint timescales and I do not find fault.
85. At Stage 2 of the Council’s complaints procedure, it does not specifically provide a timescale for response. However, it is suitable to consider the Council would apply the same 25 working day timescale previously stated in the absence of a different timescale.
86. Mr X sought consideration of his complaint at Stage 2 of the Council’s process on 21 November 2024. This meant the Council had until 30 December 2024, excluding bank holidays, to provide its Stage 2 complaint response. The Council only provided its Stage 2 complaint response on 7 February 2025; this was 23 working days outside its complaint timescales and was fault.
87. The Council’s failure to discuss financial assessment matters with Mr X in 2024 and the 23 working day delay in responding to his complaint will have caused Mr X frustration and inconvenience. The Council should apologise to Mr X for its customer service failings.

Back to top

Action

88. Within four weeks of the Ombudsman’s final decision the Council will:
• Provide an apology to Mr X and apply a credit to his father’s care fees of £1,000 for the distress, frustration and lost opportunity caused for the delays in providing Mr X with his father’s Care and Support Plans, delays in completing financial assessments, delays in producing billing for his father’s care and for failing to provide clear and transparent billing.
• Remove any care arrangement fees applied to Mr X’s care charges from February 2023 up to 27 September 2024.
• Provide an apology to Mr X for failing to discuss the financial assessments with him in 2024 and the delays in handling of his complaint.
• Provide Mr X with a clear and transparent breakdown of the billing produced for his father’s care. This breakdown should detail the time periods the Council has billed for, the rates it has applied and resultant charges. This should also clearly highlight where the Council has removed charges because of lower than the expected amount of care provided by the care provider and any awards detailed as recommendations in this decision.
• Provide Mr X with a list of the care visits completed by the care provider for his father’s care since February 2023 detailing completed visits and if these were single or double-handed.
89. Within 12 weeks of the Ombudsman’s final decision the Council will:
• Align its policy and the information on its website about whether the Council will, or will not, “full-cost” service users when financial information is not provided to enable the Council to complete a financial assessment. The Council can follow whichever practice it considers suitable but should ensure the information and approach is consistent.
• Remind staff in its Adult Social Care service to provide service users with the Care and Support Plans on completion of these documents and without significant delay.
• Remind staff in its Financial Assessment service to complete financial assessments of service users within an appropriate and reasonable timeframe, in line with the requirements set out in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
• Remind staff in its Financial Assessment service to provide early information about the Council’s care arrangement fees to service users.
90. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

91. There was fault leading to injustice. As the Council has agreed to my recommendations, I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman