Summary: Mr C complained about the way the Council dealt with matters in relation to the financial assessment of his (late) uncle’s residential care placement. I found fault with the long time it took the Council to complete the financial assessment, for which the Council has agreed to apologise.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr C, complained to us on behalf of his (late) uncle, whom I shall call Mr U. Mr C complained the Council failed to:
• Properly explain things to him about charging, and complete the financial assessment, in a timely manner.
• Properly carry out his uncle’s financial assessment.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information I received from Mr C and the Council. I shared a copy of my draft decision statement with Mr C and the Council and considered any comments I received, before I made my final decision.

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What I found

Relevant legislation and guidance

5. The Care Act, and its corresponding Guidance, says a Financial Assessment should be completed before arranging care services (or at the same time). In urgent cases, where councils have to arrange care before completing the assessment and planning process, the Ombudsman expects the Council to at least give people a reasonable estimate of likely charges before they have to decide about what care services they want the Council to arrange. In these cases, the Ombudsman also expects councils to complete the formal financial assessment as quickly as possible after that.
6. The Care Act Guidance (8.35) says that: “People in a care home will contribute most of their income, excluding their earnings, towards the cost of their care and support. However, a council must leave the person with a specified amount of their own income so that the person has money to spend on personal items such as clothes and other items that are not part of their care. This is known as the personal expenses allowance (PEA)”.
7. Councils have discretion to apply a higher income allowance in individual cases. Annex C 46d says that: “Where a person’s property has been disregarded the local authority should consider whether the PEA is sufficient to enable the person to meet any resultant costs. For example, allowances should be made for fixed payments (like mortgages, rent and Council Tax), building insurance, utility costs (gas, electricity and water, including basic heating during the winter) and reasonable property maintenance costs”.

What happened

8. Mr C says he was told by four hospital social workers that: Mr U would not have to pay for his temporary stay in a care home after his hospital discharge, because he was discharged to be further assessed and to free up a hospital bed.
9. In response, the Council said that, according to the hospital social work team, while Mr U was still in hospital:
• They handed Mr C all the information during their first meeting on 12 June 2019. This included a Financial Assessment Form (FAF) that he would need to complete and return. The social worker says they had an extensive discussion with Mr C about Mr U’s finances and explained the key points of the Council’s Charging Policy.
• Mr C said he would have difficulties getting all the relevant information for the Financial Assessment because he did not yet have access to Mr U’s bank accounts.
10. Records provided by the Council only state that:
• 12 June: “According to the friends he does not have much savings or does not own a property”. 
• 17 June Needs Assessment: “Information about charging process was given to Mr C”.
11. Mr C provided me with a sound recording from the meeting held on 12 June 2019. During the meeting:
• All agreed it would be best for Mr U to go into a care home for a 6-weeks interim placement, after which the case would be allocated to a social worker in the community for a review / reassessment to decide long term plans.
• The social worker spoke about a financial assessment and explained that Mr U would have to pay a contribution if he has less than 23,250 of capital.
• The social worker said the finance team would get in touch and gave a copy of the Council’s “Paying for a care home” leaflet. She also gave Mr U a copy of the financial assessment form.
• The social worker explained the Council could only start to charge once the form was completed, but that charges would be backdated. She also explained she would not ask Mr C/family to contribute to the cost of care.
• The social worker explained that, under the current circumstances, Mr C was not yet able to sign the form in which he would agree, on behalf of Mr U, for a financial assessment to take place. They agreed that it was up to Mr C to look into what needed to be done to enable him to legally access Mr U’s financial information to enable a financial assessment to take place.
12. Mr C went into a care home on 1 July 2019. He says there was an unreasonable delay by the Council with completing the Financial Assessment. He says that, despite the Council claiming otherwise, the first time he received a financial assessment form to be completed was in October 2019, four months after Mr U left hospital, which he immediately completed. He said it was him who had to chase up the Financial Assessment with the Council. This delay resulted in a large debt for Mr U of £5,000.
13. In response the Council told me that:
• The social worker gave a copy of the forms to Mr C on 12 June 2019.
• The Council subsequently tried to email a copy of the form to Mr C. However, this bounced back due to the Council having an incorrect email address on the system. I have not seen evidence the Council tried to follow up with Mr C over the phone.
• A Best Outcomes Panel form dated 11 July 2019 states: He was provided with the FAF and charging policy leaflet, but was unable to fill it in as he did not have access to Mr U’s accounts.
14. I have not seen evidence the Council sent an email to Mr U’s correct email address, and to which it attached the forms, until it sent a hard copy in the post in October 2019. I have seen a copy of two emails from 15 July and 30 September 2019, but neither actually showed there was an attachment to them. Mr C told the Council on 20 September 2019 that he had not yet received a copy of the financial assessment forms. The finance team confirmed to Mr U’s social worker on 14 December 2019 by email, that the team: sent two emails to Mr C using the contact details on its system. This was apparently sent to an incorrect email address.
15. Mr U’s case was reallocated to another social worker who contacted the Financial Assessment team on 14 October 2019 to ask if the Financial Assessment had now been completed. The team advised it had sent the FAF to Mr C twice, but they had not been returned. The social worker chased Mr C by text message. Mr C said on 16 October 2019 he had received the forms and made a start on completing them but required some guidance.
16. An officer of the finance team met with Mr C on 23 October 2019 to help him with completing the FAF. The Council told me that: during this meeting, the officer said the delay in completing the Financial Assessment, and Mr C not returning the relevant forms/details after his first meeting with the hospital social worker, had resulted in an outstanding debt for Mr U’s placement. Had this been returned earlier, there would not have been a delay in completing the Financial Assessment and notifying him of the charges.
17. Mr C completed and signed the FAF forms on 23 October 2019. Mr C says the Council told him to sign a form, without explaining to him that it would mean he would be held (legally) responsible for paying any shortfalls in fees etc. He says he only found this out one year later. The Council says the officer explained everything to Mr C, and he signed the forms as Mr U’s Power of Attorney. The Council did at no point tell Mr C that he would have to meet any shortfall in fees, as there was no shortfall. Mr C would only have to pay Mr U’s assessed weekly charge from Mr U’s income/pension.
18. The Council told Mr C in November 2019 that Mr U’s contribution would be £296 per week from 1 July 2019.
19. The Council told me:
• It has since included a new “Early Financial Conversation” section into its care needs assessment forms, for all clients who need a chargeable service. The care manager completes this section with the client/representative to discuss the finances. This is followed up by the Financial Assessment Team to reiterate and obtain all necessary financial information to confirm charges for services as soon as possible.
• Upon review of the case notes, it transpired that more information about the extent of the discussions could have been recorded on the case notes. We have reviewed the processes for ensuring details of financial discussions are clearly recorded on our systems in the hospital teams, including embedding a similar mandatory field into the assessment used by the hospital staff (Discharge to Assess assessment).
• It has also revised and circulated a form that practitioners will seek to have signed by residents and/or their representatives to demonstrate that the financial assessment form has been given and the Charing Policy has been discussed. Social workers will then retain a copy of this for Social Care records. This is in practice currently.

Analysis

20. According to the records, and the recording Mr C provided to me, the Council sufficiently explained to Mr C that there would be a financial assessment to calculate how much Mr U would have to contribute towards his stay at the care home. I have not seen evidence the hospital social work team told Mr C that Mr U’s stay would initially be free.
21. However, there was a delay in completing the financial assessment. This was partially due to Mr C needed time to obtain a Power of Attorney that would enable him to access all the financial information needed to complete the assessment. However, there were also failings in the Council effectively following up with Mr C to ensure the assessment would be completed as soon as possible.
22. I also found that the social worker did not sufficiently record, with regards to the meeting on 12 June 2019, as to what she explained to Mr C about charging and what documents she gave him. This is fault. If it had not been for Mr C’s recording, there would have been insufficient evidence for me to conclude that the social worker sufficiently explained the charging policy to him and provided him with the FAF on 12 June 2019.

Whether Mr U’s contribution was calculated correctly

23. Mr U rented a flat in sheltered accommodation. As there had still not been a decision whether Mr U would be able to go back to his flat, which is what Mr U wanted, he had to continue to rent the flat. As such, there were ongoing costs associated with his flat (rent, water rates etc). The Council sent an email and letter to Mr C on 4 November 2019 to confirm that it allowed all of Mr U’s household expenses as part of the financial assessment. This enabled Mr U to continue to pay for his household expenses, in addition to temporarily paying a smaller contribution towards his care.
24. Mr C sent an email to Finance on 13 November 2019 to say Mr U was unable to afford to pay £296 per week, which would come to a total debt of £5,620. Mr C told the Council it failed to take some of Mr U’s expenses / bills into account.
25. The Council told me that:
• It allowed all household expenses that Mr C put forward as part of the Financial Assessment, until Mr U’s tenancy stopped: Rent £142 p/w) Council tax, Utilities, Water Rates, and his telephone connection.
• Considering policies and guidance around charging, it could not allow the £270 spent on glasses; a financial plan for hearing aids (£4,000), £230 per month for a funeral plan, or the cost of Mr C’s train fairs to support Mr U.
26. Mr C told me that, while Mr U’s placement was temporary, he also had several ongoing direct debits and standing orders for memberships. However, I found that these costs were not related to the property and would only have come to £4 a week, which he could have paid from his PEA if he wished to do so.
27. The Council agreed in June 2020 that Mr C should stay in the care home permanently. Mr C says the Council did not give him subsequently sufficient time to get rid of Mr U’s rental property, and the associated costs that Mr U had to pay for it. He said it took him longer than expected due to his own circumstanced, which the Council was aware of. He says that, as such, the Council should have used its discretion and have allowed him more time.
28. In response, the Council told me it continued to allow all requested housing costs until 1 October 2020 when Mr U’s tenancy was terminated. Once Mr U did no longer have to pay for the costs associated with the flat, he was assessed as being able to contribute more towards the cost of his care.
29. There is reference to the finance team having offered Mr C that, if he starts to pay the invoices related to Mr U’s care after October 2019, it could consider waving the debt that occurred between July to October 2019. However, it says Mr C has not made such arrangements yet.

Analysis

30. I did not find fault. The Council continued to include the costs related to Mr U’s flat until the tenancy came to an end. Furthermore, the additional costs that Mr C wanted the Council to include, were not costs that the legislation states the Council should include as part of the financial assessment.

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Agreed action

31. I recommended that, within four weeks of my decision, the Council should provide an apology to Mr C for any distress caused by its part in the delay of completing the financial assessment.
32. The Council has identified the correct actions to take in Paragraph 19 to improve its outcome for service users.

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Final decision

33. For reasons explained above, I found there was fault with some of the Council’s actions of the Council.
34. I am satisfied with the actions the Council will carry out to remedy this and have therefore decided to complete my investigation and close the case.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman