The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about fees for adult social care. The complainant can take the matter to court.
The complaint
The complainant is acting for a care provider, I will call the complainant Ms B. She says the Council will not pay the required fees for the client the provider supports (client X). The provider is losing money on the contract. Ms B wants the Council to meet the correct fees and backdate them over two years.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council is meeting X’s adult social care needs by placing them with the care provider. Ms B says the Council is not paying enough money to cover the requested costs of the placement.
It would be reasonable for Ms B to treat this as a contract dispute and take court action. The court can decide on the level of fees and achieve the sort of remedy Ms B seeks.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because Ms B could take the matter to court. It is reasonable to expect that action in this case. The court can make an enforceable decision about the contractual fees.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman