Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council completed a financial assessment to calculate how much Miss B should pay towards her care costs. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains the Council’s financial assessment and figures used to calculate her assessed contribution towards care charges is wrong. Miss B says there are errors in the income figures the Council used to calculate and it has refused to complete a new financial assessment. She says the situation has impacted adversely on her mental wellbeing. Miss B wants the Council to complete a new financial assessment for the past two years.

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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
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council completed a financial assessment and confirmed how much Miss B needed to pay towards her care costs. It corresponded with Miss B throughout 2025 and sent her a financial assessment letter in October 2025.
7. The letter explained how it had calculated Miss B’s weekly contribution towards care fees. It included information showing breakdown of savings, income and disregards to evidence how it worked out her assessed contribution.
8. Miss B complained to the Council because she felt it had not properly considered her income details. She said the figures it had used in the financial assessment were wrong.
9. The Council responded to the complaint. It said it had reviewed the financial assessment. Its investigation found all figures it had used in the financial assessment were correct. It said if Miss B believed the figures were wrong she should provide it with the letter from the Department for Work and Pensions to show how much her income was when she transitioned to universal credit.
10. Miss B responded to the complaint and said she was exempt from paying charges so why did she had to pay now. She asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two of its procedures.
11. The Council responded to the complaint and said Miss B was never exempt from contributing towards her care. It explained it completed a financial yearly and the assessed contribution increased marginally because Miss B’s income had increased.
12. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence to show there is fault in the way the Council completed Miss B’s financial assessment. Miss B did not provide any further documentary evidence or confirmation of changes in her income during the Council’s investigation which would allow it to reconsider the figures it used to calculate her personal contribution. We cannot add to the investigation already completed by the Council.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating the issues Miss B complained about.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman