The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about financial assessment for adult social care charges, because there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making.
The complaint
Mr B says the Council has wrongly accused he and his mother (Mrs C) of deliberately trying to deprive assets for care home funding. Mrs C’s care home fees have hugely increased; she cannot afford to pay the full cost, but the Council will not contribute. Mr B is finding it stressful, and his health is impacted.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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: 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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council is responsible to complete a financial assessment and collect a contribution towards care charges where appropriate.
Mrs C has lived in residential care for many years and paid her own care fees. In 2021 Mr B approached the Council for help with Mrs C’s care fees. The Council completed the financial assessment and decided Mrs C had deprived herself of an asset in 2013 when she transferred her property to Mr B for no payment. The Council found there was no valid reason for the transfer, so decided Mrs C transferred the property for the purpose of avoiding care costs.
I have seen no evidence Mr B has put forward a valid reason for the transfer. The Council reached its decision by referring the case to its lawyers to review and have regard to the relevant law and guidance. Although Mr B strongly disagrees with the Council’s decision, there is no evidence of fault in how it made its decision and therefore the Ombudsman cannot question or criticise it.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman