Summary: We have found fault with the Council for its poor communication with Mr X about his adult son’s (Mr Y’s) care contributions. This caused Mr X and his family avoidable distress. The Council agreed to remedy this injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained on behalf of his son, Mr Y. He complained the Council delayed telling him that his son was required to pay a contribution towards one of this care package services. He said the Council is demanding that his son make backdated contributions from May 2023 until Mr X ended the service in June 2024.
2. Mr X said the family is now having provide the support services for his son who has anger management issues as part of his condition.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have not investigated the Council’s decision to review Mr X’s son’s care contributions or the resultant increase in contributions.
6. This was the Council’s decision to make, and I cannot question this if the decision was reached in the correct way.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

Charging for social care services: the power to charge

9. A council has a duty to arrange care and support for those with eligible needs, and a power to meet both eligible and non-eligible needs in places other than care homes. A council can choose to charge for non-residential care following a person’s needs assessment. Where it decides to charge, the council must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care Act statutory guidance. (Care Act 2014, section 14 and 17)

What happened

Background

10. Mr X’s adult son, Mr Y has learning difficulties. He has assessed care needs requiring provision. In March 2022, the Council carried out a financial assessment for Mr Y. The assessment informed the Council’s decision that Mr Y needed to pay £0 per week towards the cost of his care package.
11. In March 2023, the Council wrote to Mr X and informed him that his son’s reassessed contribution would be £0. Further letters sent in April 2023 and April 2024 state that Mr Y’s contribution would be £0.

Reviewed care contributions

12. In May 2024, the Council wrote to Mr X. It informed him that the Council had reviewed Mr X’s contributions because of changes to his income in February 2023.
13. The Council said that Mr Y needed to contribute:
• £91.92 per week from April 2024,
• £73.92 per week from March 2023 and
• £83.92 per week from April 2023.
14. Mr Y cancelled the services in June 2024.
15. The Council wrote to Mr X with an invoice for £1,900 for the backdated contributions from March 2023 until June 2024.
16. Mr X complained. He said that the Council did not notify of the charges back in 2023. He said, if it had, he would have cancelled the services then.

My findings

17. The Council did not notify Mr X that it had reviewed Mr Y’s care contributions in 2023. When the Council did contact Mr X in 2023, it told him that Mr Y’s contributions were £0.
18. When the Council informed Mr X in 2024 what his son’s contributions would be going forward, he cancelled the service. If the Council informed Mr X in 2023, he would have cancelled the service then and would not have incurred the backdated care contributions between March 2023 and May 2024.
19. I have found fault with the Council for its poor communication with Mr X in 2023 when it reviewed his son’s care contributions. This poor communication continued for the next year. This resulted in unpaid care contributions accumulating to the value of £1,900. When the Council eventually notified Mr Y of the reviewed contributions, it caused him ongoing distress and resulted in him cancelling his son’s care. This caused the family further to distress due to his son’s complicated needs.
20. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £300 in recognition of the avoidable distress caused. The Council also agreed to write off the £1,900 debt that has accrued on Mr X’s son’s account.

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Agreed action

21. Within 4 weeks of my decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. Apologise to Mr X for the distress caused by the Council’s poor communication.
2. Pay Mr X £300 for the avoidable distress caused to his family.
3. Write-off the £1,900 debt caused by the unpaid care contributions.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

23. I have found fault with the Council for its poor communication with Mr X which resulted in the accumulation of care contributions and avoidable distress.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman