London Borough of Barnet (23 017 077)

Category : Adult care services > Charging

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 27 Mar 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about payment toward adult social care. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council completed its financial assessment to justify investigation.

The complaint

  1. Mr D says the Council overcharged his mother, Ms E, for her adult social care. Mr D says this did not leave Ms E with enough funds for her burial when she died.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We may investigate a complaint on behalf of someone who has died or who cannot authorise someone to act for them. The complaint may be made by:
  • their personal representative (if they have one), or
  • someone we consider to be suitable.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(2), as amended)

  1. Ms E has died. We have accepted Mr D as a suitable representative.
  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, or
  • we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
  • further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

  1. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
  2. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Ms E lived in a residential care home. When someone receives adult social care, the Council must assess what, if anything, the person can pay toward that care. The Council follows rules and guidance set by government and its own policies.
  2. The Council followed the law, national guidance, and its own policy to assess Ms E’s financial contribution. The Ombudsman therefore cannot question the Council’s decision even though Mr D disagrees with it.
  3. The Council accepted some delay in its communication with Ms E’s family, for which it has apologised.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate Mr D’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the financial assessment to justify investigating. The Council has apologised for failures in communication, which acknowledges the impact of that fault. It is unlikely that an Ombudsman investigation would add to the Council’s complaint responses or reach a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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