Summary: Mr X complained about how much the Council required Mrs B to contribute to the cost of her care. We find the Council failed to follow its own policy by not offering a review and appeal of its decision and by not properly considering whether to exercise discretion. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X, review its decision and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains on behalf of Mrs B. He says the Council did not take into account regular payments Mrs B made to him to support her grandchild when deciding how much she should contribute towards her care home fees. Mr X says this has had a significant financial impact on his family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

4. I have not investigated events since Mr X brought his complaint to us in July 2025. This includes his complaint that the Council has continued to send invoices to him, despite arranging for an appointee to manage Mrs B’s finances. Mr X may wish to make a separate complaint to us about this once he has completed the Council’s complaints procedure.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council, as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Personal expenses allowance

7. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says that councils must leave care home residents with a minimum amount of income. This is known as the Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) and the amount is set out in regulations and updates sent via a local authority circular. Anything above this may be taken into account in determining charges.
8. The guidance says there may be some circumstances where it would not be appropriate for the local authority to leave a person only with the personal expenses allowance after charges. It gives examples, including when a person has a dependent child.

Background and key events

9. Mrs B is Mr X’s mother-in-law and the grandmother of his child.
10. Since Mrs B’s daughter, who was Mr X’s partner, passed away, Mrs B has been making regular payments to Mr X to help support her grandchild.
11. In 2023, Mrs B entered residential care. The Council carried out a financial assessment and decided that all of Mrs B’s income should be used to pay for her care fees, apart from the Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA).
12. Mr X asked to appeal the Council’s decision, and for it to take into account the financial support Mrs B had been providing for his child. The Council refused, stating that the charges were not negotiable and that there was no right of appeal.
13. In September 2025, the Council arranged for an appointee and money management service to manage Mrs B’s finances.
14. In January 2026, the Council told us Mrs B had accrued around £17,000 in unpaid care home fees. It also said that Mr X was continuing to take money from Mrs B’s income and was sporadically paying the PEA to Mrs B’s care home on her behalf.

Analysis

15. The Care and Support Statutory Guidance says that councils should consider whether it is appropriate to leave a person with only the PEA. This shows that councils have discretion and must consider individual circumstances.
16. The Council’s Contributions Policy confirms that where it has discretion, it will consider each case on its individual merits. The policy also states that service users have the right to challenge decisions about:
• what they should contribute each week
• how it applied the policy to calculate their allowances or contribution
• how it decided on how its discretion was applied.
17. The policy states that such concerns are dealt with through its Review and Appeals procedures. It explains that a manager will carry out a review. If the person remains dissatisfied after the review, they can request an appeal, which will be considered by an informal panel.
18. In this case, the Council told Mr X its decision was not negotiable and that there was no right of appeal. This was incorrect. In doing so, the Council failed to recognise and apply its discretion and failed to follow its own policy by not offering Mr X the opportunity to request a review and appeal. This was fault and caused injustice to Mr X and Mrs B.
19. Mr X was denied the opportunity to have the Council properly reconsider whether it should exercise its discretion in Mrs B’s case. This creates uncertainty about whether Mrs B has paid more towards her care than she should have. It also caused avoidable frustration and distress to Mr X. The failure to review the decision at an earlier stage may have contributed to the level of debt that has since accrued.

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Action

20. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council will take the following actions:
• Apologise to Mr X for the impact of failing to follow its Contributions Policy, by not offering a review and appeal and not properly considering the exercise of discretion. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance when making the apology.
• Carry out a review of its decision to leave Mrs B with only the PEA. This review should be completed in line with its Contributions Policy and should fully consider whether it is appropriate, in Mrs B’s individual circumstances, to allow her more than the minimum allowance. The Council will write to Mr X with the outcome and a clear explanation of its reasons.
• If, following the review, the Council decides it would have been appropriate to leave Mrs B with more than the PEA, it will revise its financial assessment accordingly and backdate any change to when Mrs B entered residential care. It will use any resulting adjustment to reduce the outstanding care home fees.
• Consider whether it is appropriate to recover the outstanding care home fees, taking into account how the debt arose, including Mrs B’s capacity at the time and the Council’s earlier failure to review its decision. The Council will provide a clear written explanation of its decision and, if any debt remains, explain how it intends to recover it.
• Write to Mr X to clearly explain any responsibilities he has in relation to Mrs B’s finances and how it will ensure Mrs B receives her PEA going forward.
21. Within eight weeks of my final decision, the Council will:
• Remind relevant staff of the need to follow its Contributions Policy, including offering a review and appeal where appropriate, and to properly consider the exercise of discretion when deciding whether a person should be left with more than the PEA.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

23. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mr X’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman