Summary: We will not investigate this late complaint about the Council failing to pay increased fees to a care provider or move the people receiving care to new accommodation. There is not a good reason for the delay. In any event, the matter is best considered by the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained on behalf of a care provider, that the Council’s adult social services refused to move residents to whom he gave notice in 2019. He says the Council refused to raise its payments in line with fee increases, and the care provider cannot provide the care the residents need at the rate the Council has continued to pay. He wants the Council to move the residents or pay the increased fees, backdated to 2019.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X is a director of a care provider. The Council commissions services for people needing care in locations run by the provider.
7. Mr X wrote to the Council in 2019 to explain the care provider would be increasing its fees, and said if the Council would not pay the increased rate then those residents it commissioned would be required to move. He says the Council did not respond and it did not make arrangements to move its service users.
8. Mr X says the company’s legal representatives have sent some correspondence to the Council, however pursuing the matter further was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. I recognise the pandemic would have caused some delay in the care provider’s ability to evict service users. However, there is not a good reason for the total four years’ delay before bringing the matter to the Ombudsman.
9. In any event, had Mr X brought the complaint to us in 2019 it is unlikely we would have decided to investigate. The matter is ultimately about the contract between the care provider and the Council, and would best be considered by the courts. We cannot compel the Council to move its tenants or pay a higher fee, nor could we decide if the Council’s actions had breached its contract with the care provider. It is open to Mr X to explore the company’s legal options.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s late complaint because there is not a good reason he did not bring it to the Ombudsman sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman