Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council shared incorrect property ownership details. This is because there is no good reason why Mr X cannot take the matter to court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council shared incorrect property ownership details with a court-appointed deputy who manages his mother, Mrs A’s financial affairs. He said the Council put undue pressure on him and Mrs A by:
• withholding payments to Mrs A’s care home, risking her eviction; and
• trying to evict him from his home to release funds to support Mrs A’s care.
2. He said the Council’s inappropriate behaviour caused avoidable distress to both him and Mrs A.
3. Mr X seeks an apology, an explanation for the false property ownership accusations, and reassurance that Mrs A’s funding and care arrangements will remain secure.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
6. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

9. The Council placed Mrs A into a Care Home in 2022. The Council delayed completing her financial care assessment until mid-2024, after the appointment of a deputy, Mr Z, to manage Mrs A’s financial affairs.
10. During the Council’s financial assessment of Mrs A’s funds, Mr X said the Council informed Mr Z, he owned a property where he does not reside. Mr X said this led Mr Z to ask whether he planned to vacate Mrs A’s property, where he has lived since 2015, and move to the property he allegedly owned.
11. In its complaint response on the matter, the Council asked Mr X to address any financial matters to Mr Z.
12. The Council has not yet completed Mrs A’s financial care assessment. Mr X continued to live at Mrs A’s property and no actions were taken to evict him from his home. Therefore, we will not investigate this part of the complaint, as any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
13. Mr X further said the Council withheld payments to Mrs A’s Care Home leading to the Care Home threatening to evict her.
14. The Council acknowledged an error in its accounting system which temporarily stopped payments to the Care Home. The Council said it resolved the matter promptly as soon as it was informed, payments then continued to the Care Home. It reassured Mr X Mrs A’s placement at the Care Home was no longer at risk. Mrs A has since passed away. We will not investigate this part of the complaint as further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
15. As Mrs A has now passed away, the Council must complete her financial care assessment. Any outstanding care fees and disputes over property ownership are now matters for the court. We cannot investigate a complaint when someone can take the matter to court and there is no good reason to believe Mr X cannot pursue this route.

Back to top

Final decision

16. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no good reason why Mr X cannot take the matter to court.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman