Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council assessed the complainant’s finances. This is because it is not yet possible to determine if he has suffered significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about how the Council assessed his finances and the amount it says he must pay towards the cost of his care. Mr X says he has been caused considerable stress by the matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. Mr X had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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My assessment

6. Mr X does not agree with the Council’s assessment of his finances and says it has incorrectly told him he must contribute towards the cost of his care. Mr X says this has led to payment arrears and he has needed to take out loans to pay his carers.
7. The Council has said it has made a payment to cover the salary arrears for Mr X’s personal assistant. It is also taking legal advice regarding Mr X’s assessed financial contribution and will consider its position further. The Council says it is continuing to pay the full cost of Mr X’s care in the meantime.
8. As the Council is still considering if Mr X needs to pay towards his care, I cannot yet say if he has suffered any significant injustice because of the alleged fault.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is not yet possible to say if Mr X has suffered any significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman