Summary: Mr X complained the Council wrongly told his mother-in-law that she would not need to pay for her care then later asked her to make a significant contribution. We have ended our investigation because the Council has taken action that appropriately remedies any injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly told his mother-in-law, Mrs Y that she would not need to pay for her care then later asked her to make a significant contribution.
2. As a result, Mrs Y did not budget for the contributions and does not know how she is going to pay.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
4. 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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. 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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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr X and the Council 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

Relevant legislation

8. Sections 9 and 10 of the Care Act 2014 require councils to carry out an assessment for any adult with an appearance of need for care and support. They must provide an assessment to everyone regardless of their finances or whether the council thinks the person has eligible needs. The assessment must be of the adult’s needs and how they impact on their wellbeing and the results they want to achieve. It must also involve the individual and where suitable their carer or any other person they might want involved.
9. A council has a duty to arrange care and support for those with eligible needs, and a power to meet both eligible and non-eligible needs in places other than care homes. A council can choose to charge for non-residential care following a person’s needs assessment. Where it decides to charge, the council must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care Act statutory guidance. (Care Act 2014, section 14 and 17)
10. Where a council has decided to charge for care, it must carry out a financial assessment to decide what a person can afford to pay. It must then give the person a written record of the completed assessment. Councils have no power to assess couples according to their joint financial resources. A council must treat each person individually. A council must not charge more than the cost it incurs to meet a person’s assessed eligible needs.

What happened

11. In 2024, Mrs Y received support from the Urgent Community Response team. This is a short-term service which is not chargeable.
12. Following this, the Council allocated a social worker to carry out a care and support assessment. The assessment identified eligible care and support needs which could be met through a package of care. The social worker recorded that a financial assessment would be required.
13. In July, after the Urgent Community Response service ended, Mrs Y began receiving ongoing support from a care agency arranged by the Council.
14. In November, Mrs Y received the outcome of a financial assessment. This set out the weekly contribution she was required to pay towards the cost of her care and included backdated charges from July.
15. Mrs Y cancelled her care package immediately. Mr X complained to the Council, saying Mrs Y had previously been told she would not have to pay for her care because of her financial circumstances. He also disputed some of the financial information used in the assessment.
16. The Council responded that its records showed staff had discussed the possibility of charges with Mrs Y and her family and the correct procedures had been followed. It said Mrs Y was therefore liable for the assessed contribution.

My findings

17. During our investigation, the Council identified an error in its processes. It found that after Mrs Y’s care needs were reviewed, a request for a full financial assessment should have been sent to the financial assessment team but this did not happen.
18. As a result, Mrs Y did not receive a financial assessment when she should have done in summer 2024. This meant she did not have clear information about what she might be required to pay before the ongoing care package began and was therefore unable to make a fully informed decision about accepting the service.
19. The Council has acknowledged this fault. It has apologised to the family and waived the outstanding care charges.
20. I am satisfied these actions appropriately remedy the injustice caused. As a result, there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by continuing my investigation.

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Decision

21. I have ended my investigation into this complaint. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman