Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her financial assessment. This is because some of her complaint is late with no good reason for the delay. On the part that is not late, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of her financial assessment. She says it wrongly capped her disability related expenditure (DRE) in 2022, which caused her to pay more for her care for the last four years. She complains the Council has now refused to backdate the financial assessment and refund her care contributions between 2022 and 2025.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. The financial assessment Ms X complains about took place in 2022. This makes this aspect of her complaint late. If Ms X was dissatisfied with the assessment, it was reasonable for her to complain to us sooner. I have seen no good reason for the delay in complaining. Ms X’s later discovery that she may have been entitled to further DRE is not a good reason for the delay. I will therefore not investigate this aspect of her complaint.
8. Ms X is also unhappy with the Council’s refusal to backdate the financial assessment and refund her care contributions. The Council’s charging policy says it will consider necessary DRE where the person provides evidence of the cost. If evidence is provided within one month of the assessment, any reduction in the charge will be backdated to the date of the assessment. If evidence is provided later, the reduction will apply from the date the Council receives the evidence.
9. The 2022 financial assessment letter told Ms X about her right of appeal if she disagreed with the assessment. The evidence I have seen shows she did not contact the Council or provide further evidence about her DRE until 2025. The Council was therefore entitled not to backdate the financial assessment or refund her any care contributions. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify us investigating.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part of it is late with no good reason for the delay. On the part that is not late, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify us investigating.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman