Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to include money Mrs B gifted to her family in her financial assessment. This is because it is unlikely we would find enough evidence of fault to warrant an Ombudsman investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr B disputes the Council’s decision that his late mother, Mrs C deprived herself of an asset for the purpose of avoiding care costs when she gifted £10,000 to family members two weeks before she decided to move into residential care. Mr B says the Council should cancel the invoice and reassess Mrs C’s finances excluding the money gifted to her family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council explained the reasons why it did not agree to exclude the money Mrs C gifted from her financial assessment. It says it first assessed Mrs C in 2020 due to a decline in her mobility, and says Mrs C would have had a reasonable expectation of needing care when she disposed of the money in August 2022. The Council says a package of care was put into place for Mrs C after she was discharged from hospital to a care home following a fall in June 2022. Although Mrs B was later discharged home with a package of care, she moved into residential care due to a decline in her health and mobility on 15 August. Although initially for respite care, the placement was made permanent on 5 September 2022.
6. Mr B has queried the fees and disputes the Council’s decision to include the gifts in Mrs C’s financial assessment. The Council has explained how they arose and why they will include them. An investigation by the Ombudsman would not change this.
7. Sadly, Mrs C has since passed away. It is the responsibility of the executor to collect the assets, pay any debts and use the resulting balance to distribute to any beneficiaries.
8. If Mr B as Mrs C’s executor, disputes the existence of a particular debt they can refuse to pay and defend any court proceedings against them.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault with the actions taken by the Council to warrant an ombudsman investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman