Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council arranged for a charity to manage Ms X finances several years ago and about delays in responding to her request to end her home care package in 2023. Ms X’s complaint about the management of her finances is late and she could have complained about this sooner. In response to our suggestion, the Council agreed to refund the contributions Ms X paid during the delays, and to apologise and make a symbolic payment to recognise the distress it caused her. This is a suitable remedy for the injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about social care support she received from the Council. She says the Council:
• should not have arranged for a charity to manage her finances between 2017 and 2022;
• did not properly monitor the actions of that charity; and
• took too long to end her care package after she asked it to in mid-2023.
2. As a result, Ms X says she was deprived of access to her own money for several years and the Council continued to charge her for care she did not want. She wants the Council to apologise and pay her a financial remedy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. 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

7. I considered information provided by the complainant’s representative and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Management of Ms X’s finances between 2017 and 2022

9. Ms X’s representative complained to the Omdurman, on her behalf, in March 2025. Therefore, Ms X’s complaint about how the Council arranged for a charity to manage her money and how the charity did this are late.
10. Ms X had previous contact with the Ombudsman in 2022, so she knew that she could complain to us and was able to access help to do so at that time. There is evidence that Ms X continued to have help from the same person since then.
11. Therefore, I am satisfied Ms X could have complained about events between 2017 and 2022 much earlier than March 2025. There are no good reasons Ms X could not have complained at the time, or to consider the complaint about those events now.

Delays in ending Ms X’s care package in 2023

12. If we investigated this part of Ms X’s complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault because its records show there were delays in reviewing and ending Ms X’s care package between August 2023 and April 2024.
13. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused to Ms X by refunding the contributions it charged her during the period of the delay, apologising to her and making a symbolic payment to recognise the distress this caused her.

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Action

14. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint and, within a month of my decision will:
• refund the contributions it charged Ms X for her home care from August 2023 onwards;
• apologise to Ms X for the distress caused by the delays in reviewing and ending her care package; and
• pay her £200 to recognise that distress.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate the first part of Ms X’s complaint, because it is late and there are no good reasons to investigate that per of her complaint now.
16. We have upheld the second part of Ms X’s complaint because Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman