Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a financial assessment for adult social care. There is not enough evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly decided that his relative, Ms Y, had deprived herself of assets to avoid paying care costs. Mr X said this resulted in his relative and her family wrongly paying for care.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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. Ms Y moved into a care home. The Council carried out a financial assessment to decide how much Ms Y should pay towards her care costs.
6. The Council’s assessment included a property registered in Ms Y’s name. The Council assessed that Ms Y was responsible for paying her care home fees.
7. Mr X says the Council’s decision was wrong because the property was held in a family trust and should not be included in the assessment. The Council’s decided the family trust was set up to avoid paying care home fees and was a deprivation of assets. Mr X denies this.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. We cannot decide if the Council’s decision was right or wrong. We can look at the Council’s process for making its decision.
9. I am satisfied the Council took the correct steps in carrying out the financial assessment and that it considered the relevant information and evidence in line with the law and government guidance on charging. The decision was based on the Council’s understanding of the law as it applied to the information it had about Ms Y’s circumstances. I recognise that Mr X disagrees. However, this does not mean the Council was at fault in how it reached its decision.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council decided how much Ms Y should pay towards her care costs.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman