Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about his father being charged for his care home placement. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about his father being charged for his care home placement. He says his father should not be charged because he remains under the care of the hospital.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mr X’s father, Mr Z went into hospital in April 2023. Mr Z moved from hospital to a care home where he received care and support from May until October 2023.
6. Mr Z has been aware of his care charges since July 2023, which is more than 12 months ago. I am satisfied it is reasonable to expect Mr Z to have complained earlier if he was unhappy about being charged for his care home placement. I cannot see any good reasons for why Mr Z could not have complained to us earlier about the matter. Therefore, I will not exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman