Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to refund care fees. This is because this part of the complaint is late. The Ombudsman cannot investigate the complainant’s concerns about what happened during a tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained that the Council has refused to refund fees he paid for the care of his late father (Mr Y). Mr X has also raised concerns about what happened during a tribunal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision and have considered the comments he made in response.

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What I found

6. Mr Y received care and support in a care home until he died in 2011. In April 2011, the Council wrote to Mr X and asked him to confirm who was dealing with Mr Y’s estate as care charges were outstanding. Mr Y was assessed as needing to contribute £205.41 a week towards his care and £4,313.61 was outstanding. Mr X paid the full amount due.
7. Mr X requested information from the Council under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Council responded but did not provide information relating to Mr Y’s finances. It said it did not need to disclose this information under section 41 of the FOIA as the information was provided to the Council in confidence.
8. Mr X complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the Council’s decision and then appealed to the First-tier Tribunal. Mr X says the Council has not answered the questions asked by the tribunal judge and says the Council should pay his legal fees as it told him to get legal advice. Mr X has also complained that the Council gave a third party Mr Y’s financial information and says the Council should refund the care fees he paid as it was not his responsibility to pay these charges.

Assessment

9. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the tribunal. This is because the Ombudsman does not have jurisdiction to investigate what happened during a tribunal.
10. Mr X has also complained that the Council gave a third party Mr Y’s financial information. The Ombudsman will not investigate this issue. Mr X can complain to the ICO if he is concerned about how the Council handles personal data as this is the appropriate body to consider complaints about these matters.
11. Mr X has complained that he was made to pay his father’s care charges. He wants this amount refunded as the payment should have been paid from Mr Y’s estate. The Ombudsman will not investigate these issues as this part of the complaint is late. A complaint is late if it has taken someone more than 12 months to complain to the Ombudsman. The issues Mr X has complained about occurred in 2011 and are therefore late. I understand Mr X says the matter has been ongoing and he has been in correspondence with the Council for some time. But I see no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate as Mr X could have complained to the Ombudsman sooner.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s concerns about information provided to a third party as there is another body better placed to deal with concerns about how the Council handles information. The Ombudsman will also not consider Mr X’s concerns about the care charges he has paid on behalf of Mr Y as this part of the complaint is late. The Ombudsman cannot consider Mr X’s complaint about what happened during a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman