Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to backdate Mr X’s financial assessment. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains on behalf of Mr X. He disagrees with the Council’s refusal to backdate Mr X’s financial assessment to January 2021.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Where a council charges for care and support, it must carry out a financial assessment to establish what a person can afford to pay. However, it needs information about the person’s income and capital to do this.
6. Mr X had a court appointed deputy managing his property and financial affairs between 2021 and 2023. The deputy died in May 2023 and Mr X was left with no representation for a period of time.
7. Mr Y was appointed as Mr X’s new deputy sometime later. He complained to the Council and requested it carry out a retrospective financial assessment from January 2021.
8. The Council refused to do so because it did not become involved with Mr X’s care until October 2021. This is line with the relevant legislation. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
9. For the period from October 2021 to May 2023, the Council said it made appropriate attempts to obtain information it needed to carry out the financial assessment, but the previous deputy did not provide this. The inability to complete the assessment was, therefore, due to the information not being provided, rather than the Council’s failure to initiate or progress the assessment. Therefore, there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s refusal to backdate the financial assessment to October 2021 to justify an investigation.
10. From May 2023, when Mr X was left without a representative, the Council agreed to carry out a retrospective financial assessment.
11. It is open to the new deputy to raise the previous deputy’s actions with the organisation he worked for if he believes the deputy did not act in line with his professional duties.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman