Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about charges for care. There is not a good reason for the delay in bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council is holding him responsible for paying £37,000 towards his deceased mother’s care fees. He says it did not keep him informed, it ignored its procedures and refused to provide him a copy of its assessment. He says this has caused stress and he has paid solicitors’ fees, which he can no longer afford. He wants the Council to write off the debt.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. Mr X’s mother passed away in 2019. He says he had been under the impression until then that his mother’s care would be paid for by the Council. However, he then received invoices from the Council, and instructed a solicitor to assist him in challenging the matter.
7. The law says people must bring complaints to us within 12 months of becoming aware of the matter, unless there is a good reason. Mr X says he employed a second solicitor in 2020, but that he soon became unable to pay their fees and had to stop using them. It is not necessary to have the support of a solicitor to use the Council’s complaint process, and then to bring the matter to the Ombudsman.
8. Mr X also says the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as health issues of him and his partner, impacted his ability to pursue the matter. I have considered the reasons he provided but I am not satisfied they provide sufficient reasoning for the full length of the delay.
9. Mr X received further correspondence from the Council about the debt in 2023, and so he contacted the Ombudsman. However, he reasonably would have known the Council still expected to be paid for his mother’s care until then, and I am satisfied he could have raised the matter sooner, and so we will not now investigate the complaint.
10. However, in any event, there is insufficient evidence we would find fault in this case and it is unlikely we would recommend the charges be waived. Where a local authority arranges care and support to meet a person’s needs, it may charge the adult aside from where specific exceptions apply. (Care and Support Statutory Guidance, 8.2)

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason for the delay in him bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman