Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to disregard a property from its financial assessment to calculate charges for care. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs Z complained to the Council on behalf of Mr X. She said the Council failed to appropriately consider disregarding the family home from its financial assessment for care costs.
2. Mrs Z said this issue caused emotional distress. She said it also meant that Mr X may become homeless. She wanted the Council to apply discretionary disregard to the family home.

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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 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council completed a financial assessment for the care costs of Mr X’s mother. It included the family home as an asset in its assessment.
7. Mrs Z asked the Council to disregard the property as it had been Mr X’s permanent residence for many years. She said he had paid money into the property in various forms over the years and would be at risk of homelessness if the property were sold.
8. The Council considered Mrs Z’s concerns and responded. It explained the criteria for a mandatory disregard was not met. However, it would consider whether to apply a discretionary disregard if she could provide evidence relating to Mr X’s finances. These items were not provided.
9. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says that where the criterion for a mandatory disregard is not met, the Council has discretion to apply disregard in other circumstances. It will need to balance this discretion with ensuring a person’s assets are not maintained at public expense.
10. The Council followed its process and requested evidence to determine whether a discretionary disregard would be suitable to safeguard Mr X from the risk of homelessness. It did not receive the evidence, so could not decide to disregard the property. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, so we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman