Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has decided to pursue a debt for residential care that the complainants mother received. This is because the events happened too long ago and the issue of the complainants liability for the debt is a matter for the courts to decide.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about how the Council has dealt with an outstanding debt for the care of Mr X’s mother. Mr X complains about:
1. The quality of care his mother received when in residential care between 2014 and 2016.
2. The lack of support that he and his mother received when he was her full-time carer, before she moved into residential care in 2014.
3. Emails he sent about the debt were not responded to, leading him to believe the matter was closed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
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 have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the level of care that his mother received while in residential care, or the level of support that he and his mother received when he was her full-time carer. This is because these matters happened too long ago, and I see no reason why Mr X could not have brought these matters to the Ombudsman sooner.
8. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that emails that he sent the Council were not replied to. This is because it is unlikely that any further investigation would lead to a different outcome. The Council has said that the first email that Mr X sent was to an incorrect email address and that it has searched its systems and was unable to find any trace of a second email. It is unlikely that any further investigation would be able to say with any certainty why the Council did or did not receive the email.
9. In any event, even if the complaint was not late and even if we could find fault with the Council for not responding to Mr X’s email, the issues raised involve the legal liability of Mr X’s mother’s estate for the care charges. Therefore, it would be more appropriate for these issues to be decided in a court of law.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint because events happened too long ago and because the matter of his liability for the debt is better considered by the courts.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman