Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint, made on behalf of Mrs X about the Council’s charging for her transport costs to attend a day centre. There is not enough evidence of Council fault to warrant us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X attends a day centre as part of her care package. Mr X is her husband and complains on behalf of Mrs X that the Council is unfairly charging her for transport to and from the centre for days when she has not attended.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information from Mr X and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mrs X’s assessed contribution for her transport to and from the day centre is not determined by how many times per week she goes there. The contribution she is required to pay towards her transport is based on the amount of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility benefit she receives. Mrs X uses a bus service to get to the centre, not her Mobility car. Mrs X’s contribution for her bus to and from the day centre is 70 percent of her DLA monies, in line with the Council’s policy.
5. When Mrs X goes to the centre twice in a week, the Council pays for the small remainder for one visit plus the entire cost of the second trip. Mrs X’s contribution pays the remainder. The Council is meeting the difference in the cost of Mrs X’s transport between her contribution and the full cost of the two trips per week she usually requires to go to and from the day centre.
6. If Mrs X goes to the centre one day instead of the usual two, her weekly contribution does not meet the total cost for that one trip. The same amount of contribution is still payable from Mrs X, as determined by her DLA-based assessment. If she did not go to the day centre at all one particular week, she would not need to pay any assessed contribution for that week.
7. The Council is not at fault for requiring Mrs X to pay her assessed contribution for transport at the same amount when she attends the centre one day instead of two. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s charging for Mrs X’s transport here to warrant us investigating.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint made on behalf of Mrs X because there is not enough evidence of Council fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman