Hampshire County Council (25 009 607)

Statement Not upheld Charging 23-Mar-2026

Summary: Mr X complains the Council has increased the rate it pays to the care home where his wife lives by 2%, while other care homes receive a 5% uplift. Mr X complains this is unfair and means he now has to pay a larger top up for Mrs X’s care, which is unsustainable. We ended the investigation as we cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome for Mr X. We cannot achieve the remedy he wants.

Gloucestershire County Council (25 002 870)

Statement Upheld Charging 23-Mar-2026

Summary: We found fault with the Council for delays in completing a financial assessment of Mrs Z and providing information about the monetary cost of her care. We also found fault with the Council failing to suitably explain its deprivation of assets decision to Mr X. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X, make a symbolic payment for the distress and uncertainty caused and provide an explanation of its rationale behind its deprivation of assets decision. The Council also agreed to create an action plan to address inconsistencies with its approach and record keeping over deprivation of assets decisions. The Council also offered to remove Mrs Z’s care home costs from when she entered the home in 2023 to 23 September 2023 which I consider suitable action to address the Council’s fault.

Kent County Council (25 016 374)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 23-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X complaint about a property disregard for social care charges and poor communication from the Council. This is because the Council has already addressed Mrs X’s concerns and a further investigation by us would not add anything to the Council’s responses or lead to a significantly different outcome.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (25 010 174)

Statement Not upheld Charging 20-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained on behalf of her relative, Mr Y. She complained the Council told her Mr Y would be entitled to a 12-week disregard when he became a care home resident. It later decided he was not entitled to the disregard because the care home was in a different area. Mrs X said this frustrated her and impacted Mr Y financially. We have discontinued our investigation because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

London Borough of Newham (25 001 434)

Statement Not upheld Charging 20-Mar-2026

Summary: We have ended our investigation about Ms M’s care charges. Part of the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to investigate now. The Council in its complaint response accepted it is at fault for discrepancies in the financial assessment for Ms M’s care and how it pursued her for the outstanding amount which caused Ms M and her daughter, Ms D, distress. The Council has apologised and agreed to reduce the debt to an amount agreed with the family. There is no worthwhile outcome I could achieve by investigating the complaint further.

Manchester City Council (25 015 788)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 20-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with Mr X’s care costs. This is because we would not achieve a worthwhile outcome if we were to investigate.

Cheshire East Council (25 002 898)

Statement Upheld Charging 19-Mar-2026

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of Mr Y’s care charges and financial assessment. She also complained about the Council’s delay in discharging Mr Y from respite care, and said it failed to explain why he could not go home after the initial six-week reablement period. The Council is at fault for delay in making an occupational therapy referral. It is also at fault for the way it communicated with Ms X about the charges. This caused avoidable uncertainty and distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment, and make a service improvement.

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council (25 014 475)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 19-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about social care charges and the Council’s delay in starting a care assessment. This is because we have not seen enough evidence of fault to justify investigating the first part of her complaint. We will not investigate the second part of her complaint because we are satisfied with the way the Council responded to her concerns and consider them to be a reasonable remedy.

Kent County Council (25 015 340)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 19-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council not amending her son Mr Y’s financial contributions to his care costs when his benefits income changed, and it seeking repayment of overpaid Direct Payment money. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant us investigating.

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (25 011 029)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Charging 18-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of the final care charges for her late father. This is because we have not seen enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.