Durham County Council (22 016 042)

Category : Adult care services > Charging

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 22 Mar 2023

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint, made on behalf of Mr Y, about the Council not advising Mr Y of the date on which his care placement would become chargeable. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council on the matter to warrant us investigating.

The complaint

  1. Mr X is Mr Y’s brother. Mr Y is in a residential care placement organised by the Council, where he went on discharge from hospital.
  2. Mr X complains the Council failed to tell Mr Y he would have to pay for his care placement after 12 weeks. Mr X wants the Council to waive the care fees for the period up until he and Mr Y found out the placement had become chargeable.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information from Mr X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council set out the information it gave to Mr Y and other family members about when Mr Y’s placement would become chargeable, and that the charge due would depend on his finances. Officers met with Mr X and Mr Y in September 2022, the day before the non-chargeable rehabilitation period for Mr Y ended, after his discharge from hospital. Officers also advised they would do a financial assessment of Mr Y because the placement would become chargeable from that date. Mr Y asked his cousin to deal with the financial assessment. The Council set two dates for completion of the assessment but Mr Y asked his cousin to cancel them because he was waiting for information about one of his accounts. Once he had all the information and before the financial assessment was done, Mr Y told the Council in late October 2022 that he held funds over the £23,250 threshold. This meant he would self-fund his placement.
  2. The information shows the Council advised Mr Y that his care placement would become chargeable once the rehabilitation period ended, and did so the day before. Mr Y did not know the actual charge but knew when the non-chargeable period would end. Officers then sought to determine Mr Y’s financial situation by setting up assessments, so they could work out what his contribution would be. The Council made Mr Y aware his care was chargeable, subject to the outcome of the financial assessment. Before the Council completed that assessment, Mr Y confirmed his finances meant he would be paying for his placement in full.
  3. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council in its communications with Mr Y and his family about his placement becoming chargeable, nor in the financial assessment process it followed, to warrant us investigating.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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