Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about charges for adult social care. This is because it is a late complaint and I am not satisfied the complainant could not have complained sooner.

The complaint

1. Ms B said the Council gave confusing information about when her relative, Ms C, would be responsible to fund her own care. Ms B received an invoice for short term care despite Ms C being a permanent resident and says she cannot get a clear explanation about this. The invoice is for a time before they were told Ms C would be a self-funder, and no reason was given why the Council suddenly stopped arranging the care. Ms B is frustrated and stressed and wants a proper explanation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by someone we consider to be suitable. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2) and 34C(2), as amended)
3. Ms C cannot complain herself; we have accepted Mr B as a suitable representative.
4. 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)
5. 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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We do not normally investigate concerns that happened or were known about more than 12 months before we are contacted. Ms B knew of her concerns in January 2023 and did not come to the Ombudsman until November 2024. Ms B says she was trying to resolve the issues with the Council, but I can see no good reason why Ms B could not have raised the complaint with the Ombudsman by January 2024. I am not satisfied that Ms B could not have complained sooner.
9. However, even if we were to exercise discretion on the timing of the complaint, I do not consider the case passes the requirements of the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
10. The Council told Ms B that Ms C would need to pay the full costs of her care. The Council can charge Ms C to pay toward her care from the point the NHS funding ceased after the hospital discharge (once the Council assessed Ms C’s long term care needs). The Council has confirmed Ms C is responsible to pay from 25 November to 15 December for the time the Council was arranging her care. Ms C was a full cost client of the Council at this time, and the Council had told her the weekly amount. The invoice Ms B received is for this period. Although the Council has referred to this period as short-term residential care and Ms B thinks it should be permanent care, that does not affect the payment due to the Council. The plan was only ever for the Council to commission the care for a short time, because it was known Ms C had enough money to self-fund her care, and so would make a private arrangement.
11. The Council gave Ms B short notice to end its arrangement of Ms C’s care, and little time for Ms B to make a private arrangement on behalf of Ms C. The Council has never answered Ms B’s query about what triggered the change at this time from being a full cost client to becoming a self-funder. Given it seems Ms B still did not have a legal authority to access Ms C’s funds. However, this does not affect the payment due to the Council and does not cause enough injustice to justify an Ombudsman investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because it is a late complaint and I am not satisfied Ms B could not have complained sooner. But even if we were to exercise discretion on the timing of the complaint, I am not satisfied there is enough injustice to justify an Ombudsman investigation. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome regarding the money due for care. Although it has been stressful for Ms B, we would not investigate solely to ask for an apology and further explanation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman