Buckinghamshire Council (24 011 605)
Category : Adult care services > Charging
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Feb 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council charging her for non-residential care. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains about the Council charging her for non-residential care. In that she was unaware of the charges until she received an invoice from the Council.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X says that she was unaware that she would be charged for her non-residential care costs until she received an invoice from the Council in June 2024.
- A council can choose to charge for non-residential care following a person’s needs assessment. Where a council has decided to charge for care, it must carry out a financial assessment to decide what a person can afford to pay.
- I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Mrs X completed a financial assessment form, and the Council completed its assessment and concluded that Mrs X would need to contribute towards her care costs.
- The Council has provided three letters which it sent to Mrs X telling her of the charges in September 2023, December 2023 and May 2024. Mrs X disputes receiving these letters, but we cannot hold the Council responsible for any errors by Royal Mail in delivering the letters.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman