Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a debt for adult social care fees. The Council has acknowledged its delay, apologised, and offered a repayment plan if necessary. The Ombudsman could not add to the Council’s investigation, and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Ms C says the Council sent a large invoice for care fees for the previous 20 months, which came as a huge shock and caused her anxiety. The Council asked Ms C to get information from the Care Provider, and told her she could make a complaint to the Provider if it did not give her the information. This caused Ms C to worry that the working relationship and care support might be jeopardised. Ms C says the Council should not penalise her father (Mr D) for its mistakes, and it should waive the requested care fees.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(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 provided by the complainantl.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. A council has a duty to arrange care and support for those with eligible needs, and a power to meet both eligible and non-eligible needs in places other than care homes. A council can choose to charge for non-residential care following a person’s needs assessment. Where it decides to charge, the council must follow the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and have regard to the Care Act statutory guidance. (Care Act 2014, section 14 and 17)
6. Mr D receives care support in his own home. Mr D has some support arranged by the Council and some support arranged privately, but all care comes from the same Care Provider.
7. The Council assessed Mr D’s finances in April 2021 and told him he would need to pay towards any care support once the needs assessment was complete. The Council completed the needs assessment in May 2021 and from then Mr D’s care support was legally chargeable.
8. The Council failed to bill Mr D for his care support until January 2023; its delay meant when it did send a bill it was for a large amount. Because Mr D receives a mixed package of care, he has been paying the Care Provider (for the private provision) so had not realised he owed any money to the Council. The large bill came as a shock to Ms C, who manages Mr D’s finances.
9. The Council has given a thorough response to Ms C’s complaint, and acknowledged its fault. I do not consider the Ombudsman could add to that investigation.
10. The Council has apologised for its delay, the shock of the large invoice, and has offered Mr D can pay the debt in instalments. The Ombudsman would not achieve anything further by investigation. The Council’s delay does not mean the debt is not legally due. Had the Council not delayed Mr D would have paid those charges, but would have had the benefit of paying them in instalments. The offer to agree a repayment plan puts Mr D back into that position.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms C’s complaint because we could not add to the Council’s investigation, further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, and we cannot recommend an outcome Ms C wants which is for the Council to waive the charges.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman