Birmingham City Council (19 017 599)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mrs X complains the Council delayed assigning a social worker to her client Ms Y from April to August 2019 and refused to reimburse some care costs for Ms Y that Mrs X’s company incurred between June and August 2019 because of that delay. Mrs X says this means Mrs X’s company has not received money it should have. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint at this time. This is because the matter has not been through the Council’s contractual dispute resolution procedure.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council delayed assigning a social worker to her client Ms Y from April to August 2019 and refused to reimburse some care costs for Ms Y that Mrs X’s company incurred between June and August 2019 because of that delay. Mrs X says this means Mrs X’s company has not received money it should have.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))
How I considered this complaint
- I talked to Mrs X and reviewed information provided by the Council.
What I found
- Mrs X’s complaint is a contractual dispute.
- The Council’s flexible contracting arrangements for the provision of care homes includes a contractual dispute resolution procedure.
- Mrs X has not accessed the Council’s contractual dispute resolution procedure. The Council has agreed to consider her complaint through this procedure if she asks it to do so.
- If Ms X is unhappy with the result, once the procedure has been exhausted, she can return to the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint at this time. This is because the matter has not been through the Council’s contractual dispute resolution procedure.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman