Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to charge his mother, Ms Y, for the care it provided to her. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why Mr X did not complain sooner. Furthermore, it is unlikely we would find sufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council placed his mother, Ms Y, in a care home which was not suitable for her needs and charged Ms Y for her care without informing her or the family. Mr X said Ms Y has a significant debt of outstanding care charges which has caused the family distress. He wants the Council to cancel the outstanding care charges.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. In mid-2020, Ms Y moved into a care home following her admission into hospital. Ms Y’s placement at the care home was funded by the Covid-19 health fund until early 2021.
7. Prior to the Covid-19 funding ending, the Council said it had discussed with Mr X charges it would apply to Ms Y’s care going forward. The Council’s records show subsequently, shortly after the funding had ended, the Council completed a financial assessment with Ms Y and wrote to her informing her of the costs she would need to contribute towards her care. Ms Y’s placement at the Care Home ended in mid-2023.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the issues Mr X complains about occurred more than 12 months ago. Therefore, in line with paragraph three of this decision statement, the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why Mr X did not complain sooner. In any case, even if we were to investigate Mr X’s complaint, it is unlikely we would find sufficient evidence of fault by the Council as its records show it had contacted Mr X and Ms Y in 2021 in relation to her contribution towards her care.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons why he did not complain sooner. It is also unlikely we would find sufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman