Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about disputed care and support invoices issued by the Council. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons why we should exercise our discretion and investigate despite the passage of time.

The complaint

1. The complainant (Mr X) is complaining on behalf of his family member (Mrs Z) who has adult social care needs and received care and support in a residential care setting. Mr X alleges the Council did not provide clear and understandable information about the amount of funding contribution Mrs Z would need to make towards the cost of her care and support between 2022 and 2023.
2. In summary, Mr X says this resulted in unexpected and backdated invoices being issued which demanded payment of £10,000. He says dealing with the Council has been psychologically exhausting for the family. As a desired outcome, he wants the Council to waive the care costs and improve its policies and service.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The legal restriction I outline at paragraph three (above) inserts a time limit for a member of the public to bring their complaint to the attention of the Ombudsman. Its intention is two-fold: to provide us with the best opportunity of arriving at a robust, evidence-based decision on complaints about recent events and to ensure fairness by enabling us to decline an investigation into historic matters, which could and should have formed the basis of a complaint to us far sooner.
6. This complaint was brought to us in January 2025, the Council’s final response to the complaint was issued in July 2023 and the alledged fault is said to have occurred around April 2023 which is when the disputed invoices began to arrive. The family of Mrs Z wrote to the Council last in August 2023 raising the same complaint issues and there is no evidence to suggest anything happened with this complaint this them. It has been 20 months since the alledged fault to the date this complaint has been brought to us. So the complaint is late.
7. I have considered whether there are good reasons to exercise discretion and investigate notwithstanding the passage of time, but see no evidence in support of exercising this. The Council’s response to the complaint was issued in July 2023 which signposted Mrs Z’s family to our service and yet no complaint was made to us until January 2025. There is no new information in terms of the issues raised back then and those now. In my view, the complaint could and should have been raised much sooner. We will not therefore investigate.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the restriction I outline at paragraph three (above) applies.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman