Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Ms X’s financial assessment. The Council has upheld the complaint and agreed to remedy Ms X’s injustice by apologising and waiving care fees incurred during its delay. Further investigation by us would therefore not be proportionate.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council did not progress her financial assessment for five months. It did not provide any information during the delay causing confusion. It then sent a backdated invoice for fees Ms X did not know were accruing and could not then afford to pay as a lump sum.
2. Ms X is seeking a waiver of the fees that accrued before the Council told her she was required to contribute to her care costs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X completed a financial assessment application in April 2025. She did not hear anything from the Council and assumed she was not required to make any payment toward her care costs, as this had been the case before April 2025.
7. In September 2025, the Council sent a bill backdated to April 2025 for Ms X to pay toward her care costs since then.
8. Ms X complained the Council had not told her she would need to pay toward her care before this time and that the information provided by the Council was confusing.
9. In response to her complaint the Council accepted there was fault in the way it had dealt with the matter, and apologised. It explained the costs and agreed to waive all care costs from before September 2025.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the Council has accepted fault and agreed to provide a proportionate remedy during its investigation. A further investigation by the Ombudsman is not therefore justified.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman