Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about how the Council carried out a public consultation to change its adult social care charging policy. He will also not investigate the Council’s failure to financially assess the complainant. This is because it is unlikely he could add to the Council’s investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X has complained on behalf of her son Mr Y. She says the Council changed its adult social care charging policy without following its best practice guidance for public consultations. She also complains the Council increased Mr Y’s care contribution before it assessed his finances.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered this complaint and the correspondence from the Council. I invited Mrs X to comment on a draft of this decision and have considered the comments she made in response.

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What I found

4. Councils have a duty to arrange care and support for people with eligible needs. It can charge for most of the care and support it provides or arranges, but the amount someone needs to pay will depend on their financial circumstances. To decide how much a person can afford to pay towards the cost of their care the Council must carry out a financial assessment. The financial assessment will take account of a person’s income and capital (subject to some exceptions) and a person’s expenses.
5. The Council has a published checklist to follow when carrying out public consultations. The Council aims to run a consultation period for 12 weeks whenever possible.

What happened

6. In October 2018, the Council started a consultation on its proposed adult social care charging policy. The consultation was published on the Council’s website. The information relating to the proposal was also made available in local libraries and other Council buildings. In December 2018, the Council wrote to the affected residents to inform them about the changes. Public meetings were also held to discuss the proposed policy changes.
7. The new policy was approved and put in place in 2019. The Council wrote to Mr Y in April 2019 and said his assessed contribution towards his care would be increasing. Mrs X complained to the Council. She said it should not increase Mr Y’s contribution before carrying out a financial assessment. Mrs X also complained the Council did not carry out its public consultation in line with its policy. She argues the information sent to the affected residents in December 2018 was complicated and therefore not accessible to many of the vulnerable people it was sent to. She also says residents were not given enough time to respond and had been told that the consultation would not start until 2019.

Assessment

8. I will not investigate this complaint about how the Council carried out a public consultation for changes to its adult social care charging policy. I will also not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to financially assess Mr Y before increasing his assessed charge. This is because it is unlikely the Ombudsman could add to the Council’s response and investigation into the matter.
9. The Council has accepted that it did not give affected residents enough time to respond to its consultation letter in December 2018. However, Mr Y did still receive the information relating to the changes and he, or Mrs X, could therefore respond within the required time. Therefore, I cannot say this caused Mr Y any significant personal injustice. Mrs X also complains the information sent in December was difficult to understand. However, the Council says it spent time discussing the language used to ensure it was appropriate. I understand Mrs X disagrees and says the Council should have done more in this regard, but I am satisfied the Council considered this issue and it is therefore unlikely the Ombudsman could find fault.
10. The Council has accepted that it did not assess Mr Y’s finances before increasing the amount it said he must pay towards the cost of his care. To remedy this fault the Council has completed a new financial assessment for Mr Y and offered to pay both Mr Y and Mrs X £250 each for their time and trouble. It has also agreed to reassess Mr Y’s needs. I understand Mrs X says this remedy does not reflect the extent of the difficulties they have encountered. However, I consider this a suitable remedy for the injustice caused and it is unlikely that a further investigation by the Ombudsman could add to this.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely a further investigation could add to the Council’s response.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman