Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to charge the complainant for his care and support. This is because it is unlikely he would find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I will refer to as Mr X, has complained about the Council’s decision to charge him a contribution towards the cost of his care.

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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 it is unlikely we would find fault.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Mr X’s complaint and the correspondence from the Council. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision and I have considered his comments in response.

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What I found

4. Councils have a duty to arrange care and support for people with eligible needs. It can charge for most of the care and support it provides or arranges, but the amount someone needs to pay will depend on their financial circumstances. To decide how much a person can afford to pay towards the cost of their care the Council must carry out a financial assessment. The financial assessment will take account of a person’s income and capital (subject to some exceptions) and a person’s expenses. Councils can also take most benefit payments a person receives into account. However, after charging, a person must be left with a Minimum Income Guarantee.
5. Intermediate care and reablement support services are provided to people after they have left hospital or when they are at risk of having to go into hospital. This is time limited care and provided to help a person preserve or regain their independence. Local authorities must not charge for the first six weeks of intermediate care or reablement support.

What happened

6. Mr X started to receive intermediate care following his discharge from hospital in August 2018. Mr X left the reablement hub where he had been staying in September 2018 and started to receive care and support at home.
7. After Mr X returned home the Council assessed his finances to determine how much he could afford to pay towards the cost of his care. The Council said Mr X needed to pay £64.03 each week towards the cost of his care. It applied the charge from September 2018 and sent Mr X a bill. Mr X complained to the Council. He said he had been told the charges would not apply for the first six weeks he received care. Mr X asked the Council to cancel his support and argues that he should not have to pay the charges for the support he received when he moved home.

Assessment

8. I will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to charge Mr X towards the cost of his care. This is because it is unlikely I would find fault by the Council.
9. The Council is entitled to charge people for the cost of most of the care they receive. However, it cannot charge for the first six weeks of intermediate care. Mr X received immediate care after he left hospital in August 2018 until he returned home in September 2018. He has not been charged for this care. The Council has only applied charges from the date the intermediate care ended and when he started to receive support at home. The amount it has charged is based on its assessment of Mr X’s finances. As the Council has properly assessed Mr X’s finances and only started charging him once the intermediate care ended, it is unlikely I would find fault by the Council.
10. Mr X says he was told there would be no charge for the first six weeks he received care. While Mr X was told by a member of staff at the reablement hub that he would not be charged for his care, there is no evidence to show that the Council gave him misleading information in this regard. The Council’s notes also show that Mr X was told before he returned home that his home care would be chargeable, and he would be financially assessed to determine how much he may need to pay. I understand Mr X disputes this, and while I cannot know for certain what happened, I have no reason to question the accuracy of the Council’s file notes.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely he would find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman