Summary: Mr X complains about delays by Plymouth City Council, Livewell Southwest and NHS Devon Integrated Care Board in relation to his request for backdated care payments. We have upheld Mr X’s complaint because the organisations have agreed to take appropriate actions to resolve matters.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that Plymouth City Council (the Council), NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (the ICB) and Livewell Southwest have significantly delayed processing his request for backdated care payments. Mr X says he submitted his request in February 2025, and the organisations still have not reached a decision.
2. Mr X says this continues to cause him a significant amount of stress. Mr X would like the organisations to complete the process as soon as possible.

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The Ombudsmen’s role and powers

3. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Health Service Ombudsman have the power to jointly consider complaints about health and social care. (Local Government Act 1974, section 33ZA, as amended, and Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 18ZA).
4. The Ombudsmen consider complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. We use the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. If there has been fault, the Ombudsmen consider whether it has caused injustice or hardship (Health Service Commissioners Act 1993, section 3(1) and Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A (1), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. I spoke with Mr X and the organisations before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened

7. Mr X’s care needs are met through a domiciliary care package. The Council and the ICB jointly fund Mr X’s care. Livewell Southwest manage Mr X’s care and funding on behalf of the Council and the ICB.
8. In December 2023, Mr X asked the Council to review his care due to a change in his needs. In February 2025, Mr X’s care package was finalised and his funding was increased.
9. Mr X promptly asked the organisations to backdate his increased care payments for the period of time taken to review his care.
10. In September 2025, Livewell Southwest told Mr X the matter had been escalated but it could not say when it would be resolved.

Analysis

11. As of March 2026, the organisations still have not reached a decision on Mr X’s request for backdated care payments.
12. If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find fault with the organisations’ actions because Mr X has not received a decision about his request, which was submitted a year ago.
13. We therefore asked the organisations to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions to resolve the complaint early, by
• reaching a decision in relation to Mr X’s backdated payment request; and
• paying Mr X £100 each (a total of £300) in recognition of frustration caused by the delay.
14. To their credit, the organisations’ agreed to resolve the complaint and put things right. The organisations agreed to reach a decision by 27 March 2026 and to pay £100 each to Mr X within the next four weeks.

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Decision

15. We have upheld this complaint because the Council, the ICB and Livewell Southwest have agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman