Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about adult social care charging. The complaint is late, and it was reasonable to expect Mrs X to have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her mother, Mrs Y, about the Council’s decision in 2013 that Mrs Y deprived herself of assets when it completed a financial assessment. Mrs X complains about the Council’s refusal to prove the basis of its decision and its suggestion her mother is a liar. Mrs X wants the Council to complete a new financial assessment and to retract that Mrs Y deprived herself of assets.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start an investigation or whether to only investigate part of a complaint made to us. When someone complains on behalf of a person who lacks mental capacity, we may decide not to investigate because the events happened too long ago, meaning we are unlikely to be able to reach reliable conclusions and to achieve meaningful outcomes. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. In response to Mrs X’s complaint, the Council confirmed it would complete a financial assessment afresh for Mrs Y. It completed that action shortly afterwards and wrote to Mrs X to advise her of the outcome. The Council explained it would not revisit the decision it made in 2013 under different regulations.
6. The more time that passes between the events and a complaint, the more unlikely it is that we can investigate them effectively, gather reliable evidence and reach a sound decision. In older cases we may not be able to achieve a meaningful remedy because too many circumstances have changed. We are often unable to show why events occurred or understand who was responsible.
7. We will not investigate this complaint because it is considerably late. Mrs X has been aware of this issue since the Council made its decision in 2013. It was reasonable to expect Mrs X to have complained to us sooner. Because of this I will not exercise discretion to investigate this late complaint now.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and should have been brought to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman