Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s charges for his mother, Mrs Y’s, adult social care because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing sufficient injustice to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council had charged his mother, Mrs Y, for adult social care that she did not receive in early 2024. He also complained the Council did not cancel the care package when he asked it to in December 2023.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

5. Mrs Y was discharged home with a care package in December 2023. The Council said it discussed the care package with Mr X and Mrs Y before she returned home and clarified some queries Mr X had on Mrs Y’s return home.
6. About a week later, Mr X asked the Council to cancel the care. The social worker, Ms Z, visited to discuss this. Mr X explained he was concerned about the cost of the care and the Council explained its finance team would assess how much Mrs Y needed to contribute. Ms Z said Mrs Y did have care and support needs and that it was not in her best interests for the care package to be cancelled. Ms Z said the care should remain in place and would be reviewed again in 6 weeks.
7. In early January 2024, Mr X again asked to cancel the care package. The Council carried out a further review. It agreed Mrs Y’s condition had improved and the care package could be cancelled on the basis Mr X had agreed to provide the care and support she still needed. There were no further visits by the care provider after 2 January 2024.
8. The Council did not amend its records to show the care package had ended. This meant it invoiced for the care to 20 February 2024. In its complaint response, it accepted it did not correct its records until April 2024. However, I have seen records to show that in May 2024 it issued credit notes for the care charges from 3 January to 20 February 2024.

My findings

9. Where the Council assesses someone as having eligible care and support needs, it has a duty to arrange the support needed and it can charge for the care and support it puts in place. When Mr X asked the Council to end the care package in December 2024, the Council carried out a review but decided Mrs Y still needed the care package. This was a decision it as entitled to take, and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the decision was made to justify further investigation. In those circumstances, it was not fault for the Council to make a charge for the care and support it arranged.
10. By early January 2024, after a further review, the Council agreed that any remaining care and support Mrs Y needed could be provided by Mr X and the care package was cancelled at that point. Although it did initially continue to charge Mrs Y, it later issued credit notes, which mean she was only charged for the period to 2 January 2024 when it agreed to cancel the care package. Therefore, the initial error has not caused Mr X or Mrs Y a significant injustice.
11. The complaint response also indicates, Mr X told the Council Mrs Y may be qualify for financial assistance because she had capital under £23,250. The Council asked Mr X to provide details of Mrs Y’s capital and income, so that it could calculated how much she should contribute towards the cost of her care. It issued invoices based on the contribution it assessed she should pay. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the way it carried out its assessment to justify further investigation.
12. We will not consider this complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing sufficient injustice to justify our involvement.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing sufficient injustice to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman