Summary: On behalf of her deceased mother, Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to treat her mother’s settlement of her property into a trust as a deprivation of assets. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. On behalf of her deceased mother, who I shall refer to as Mrs Q, Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to treat the transfer of Mrs Q’s property into a trust as a deprivation of assets so leaving its financial assessment unchanged and Mrs Q liable for the charges made in connection with her care. She says it has also refused her access to its reports about Mrs Q’s case.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. 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, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and the Council. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what she said.

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What I found

6. In 2015 Mrs Q placed her property in trust. Ms X says this action took place because Mrs Q had been defrauded by members of her family and the property was settled into trust to prevent Mrs Q from disposing of it.
7. In 2019 Mrs Q had to move into a care home. The Council carried out a financial assessment to determine what contribution Mrs Q would need to make towards the cost of her care. Aware that Mrs Q’s property had been put into trust, it was of the view that a deprivation of assets had taken place with the purpose of avoiding future care and support costs. As Ms X disputed this, the Council asked for evidence to support her position but having assessed what Ms X provided it decided there had been a deprivation of assets.
8. Ms X appealed against the Council’s financial assessment for Mrs Q. The Council considered Ms X’s explanations of why the property had been placed into trust but it did not accept these reasons as being the significant motivation for the move. It also looked into whether there had been a reasonable expectation that Mrs Q would need to contribute to the cost of her care and took into account the fact that Mrs Q had had contact with social services before the establishment of the trust and that when she had been assessed in 2014 she would have received information about contributing to care costs. Having reviewed matters, it told Ms X the financial assessment remained unchanged and the charges made were correct.
9. Dissatisfied with the Council’s decision, and because the Council had refused her access to reports concerning Mrs Q’s case, Ms X complained to the Ombudsman

Assessment

10. While I understand Ms X is disappointed with the Council’s decision that the placing of Mrs Q’s property into a trust amounted to a deprivation of assets, it is not our role to review the merits of this decision and I have seen no evidence to suggest there was fault in the way the Council dealt with the matter.
11. Ms X says the Council has failed to provide her with information she has asked for in connection with Mrs Q’s case despite her role as Mrs Q’s Power of Attorney and, after her death, Mrs Q’s executor. If Ms X wishes to pursue this matter further, she can contact the Information Commissioner.
12. In responding to my draft decision, Ms X has made clear she disagrees with the Council’s decision and does not accept Mrs Q deliberately deprived herself of assets. While I note Ms X’s strength of feeling, we cannot review the merits of the Council’s decision which it came to having considered the evidence provided by Ms X.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman