Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to complete a financial assessment and how it considered her concerns about care costs. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council:
• refused to complete financial assessment for her son, Y’s residential care;
• failed to consider her requests for Disability Related Expenditures (DREs) to be applied to Y’s care; and
• overcharged Y’s care costs by ten days.
2. Mrs X said these issues meant Y was left with no money to meet his basic needs. She wanted the Council to:
• complete a financial assessment for Y; and
• consider the provision of DREs.

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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 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

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. Mrs X complained to the Council. She said it refused to complete a financial assessment for Y and failed to consider applying DREs to the costs. She also said it had overcharged the care by ten days which caused financial difficulties.
7. The Council considered Mrs X’s complaint and responded. It told Mrs X a financial assessment was carried out when Y entered residential care.
8. The Council considered the costs Mrs X had asked to be included as DREs. It explained that DREs did not apply to Y’s circumstances because he was in long-term residential care, meaning the expenses should be met either from Y’s personal allowance or by the care home.
9. The Council explained Y’s contributions to the care costs began to be incurred from the date he gained entitlement to Universal Credit, rather than the day he received the first payment. Therefore, the care costs had not been overcharged.
10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman