Summary: Mr A complained about the way the Council has dealt with the introduction of a fee for brokerage and administration of care. He said the Council did not provide enough information to allow him to understand this change. We did not find the Council at fault.

The complaint

1. Mr A complains about the way the Council has introduced fees for brokerage and administrative support. He says the Council introduced charges without providing enough information to allow him to fully understand those charges.
2. Mr A also complains the Council did not provide him with an independent complaint response.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

5. I have considered information provided by the Council and Mr A, alongside the relevant law and guidance.
6. Mr A and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft decision, and all comments received have been considered before this final decision was made.

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What I found

What happened

7. Mr A’s mother, Ms X was admitted to hospital in 2022. She was provided with some reablement care on discharge. Following the period of free care, Ms X required further care which was arranged by the Council. As Ms X had the means to pay for her own care, she paid for this.
8. The Council managed the administration of Ms X prior to December 2023, free of charge.
9. Mr A has Lasting Power of Attorney for Ms X. In December 2023, the Council wrote to Mr A and explained that it had changed its policy and would be introducing a charge for its administrative service from the end of January 2024.
10. The Council’s letter set out the upcoming change and gave the option to either take over the administration of her care, or for the Council to continue to do this.
11. The letter explained the date on which the charge would be introduced, what that charge would be, the service the Council would be providing, the benefit of having the Council carry out the service, what they would need to do if they would rather take over the administration of Ms X’s care and how to notify the Council of their choice. The letter says the charge is to cover the Council’s costs to provide the service.
12. The Council’s policy includes an exemption for those who do not have capacity to make their own decisions, and do not have anyone to make those decisions on their behalf. Ms X does not fall into this category of people as Mr A has lasting power of attorney for her. Mr A says this exemption discriminates against those who lack capacity but have someone to make decisions for them.
13. Mr A also complained the Council has not provided enough information about its decision to allow him to understand the charge.
14. The Council met with Ms X and Mr A to discuss his concerns and explain its decisions, and then provided a written response to his complaints explaining its position.
15. The Council waived all fees up to April 2024 and allowed this extra time for Mr A to decide whether to use the Council for this service. Following this period, Mr A confirmed they would not require the Council’s administrative service. Therefore, no fees have been paid for the service.

Analysis and findings

16. Our role is not to consider whether the Council should have introduced a charge for its service. We look only at whether there is a fault in the way the Council made its decisions. If we decide there is no fault in the way the Council has made its decision, we cannot ask whether it should have made a particular decision or not.
17. In this matter, the Council carried out a consultation, and agreed by committee that it would introduce a charge for a service it had previously provided free of charge. Although the Council decided not to apply the charge for a number of years following this process, the Council was not at fault in then introducing the charge when it felt it would be of more benefit to its residents.
18. The Care Act 2014 allows the Council to charge for the cost incurred in putting in place arrangements for care. The Council is entitled to introduce this charge regardless of its previous stance. The needs of a community change over time and the Council can make decisions based on such changes.
19. The Council has explained it has included an exemption in its policy to ensure that those who lack capacity to make an informed decision are not disadvantaged. If there is no one to make the decision on their behalf, the Council cannot ensure that informed consent to the charge can be given. Ms X is not at risk of this.
20. The Council has provided notice of its decision, explained the options available to Mr A, and then given more time to allow him to raise questions and meet with the Council for further discussions. This is sufficient to allow Mr A to make an informed decision.
21. Mr A says the complaint response was not impartial. The Council is entitled to provide a response from someone in the relevant department as long as the response itself appropriately addresses the issues raised. The complaint raised was about the Council’s policy, not about an individual’s personal actions. Further, Mr A’s concerns were dealt with by way of a meeting between the Council and Ms X and Mr A as well as by written response. I am satisfied the response is appropriate here.

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Final decision

22. Following our investigation, we found the Council is not at fault in its decision making here.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman