Ombudsman raps council for charging man for care he did not want

The Local Government Ombudsman has criticised a local authority for charging a man for care services he did not want or use.

The LGO’s report said that Walsall Council failed to adequately consider alternative housing options for a disabled man in his mid-sixties with complex multiple health needs.

The man had contacted the authority in June 2011 as he needed to be re-housed. This was because a friend who provided personal care was due to be away for three months.

According to the Ombudsman, the only option the council gave the man was to live in an extra care housing scheme.

“The scheme was a ‘poor fit’ as it required the complainant to pay care charges provided as part of the scheme, even though the complainant preferred to receive personal care through an informal arrangement with a friend,” the report said.

The LGO added that Walsall did not adequately ensure the disabled man understood all the charges he would face.

It also said the council’s charging structure did not accord with Government guidance. “In particular, in conflating charges for an ‘on call’ service (a ‘well being charge’) with charges for assessed personal care needs.”

The report also said that Walsall had previously agreed to review the scheme’s charging arrangements in 2011 but had not done so.

The man continues to live in the extra care housing scheme.

Walsall has agreed to waive all personal care charges accrued by the complainant and 50% of the acrrued well being charges.

The LGO also recommended that the council should:

• Within the next three months, complete a review of the current charging structure used by the scheme;
• Change the information it gives to prospective tenants of the scheme before they move;
• Offer to review the complainant’s housing needs and identify suitable alternative housing for him if he wants;
• Cap its care charges to him at 50% of the ‘well being charge’ until its charging review completes.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said: “This is not the first time I have asked Walsall council to reconsider its current charging structure for extra care housing schemes: the council has failed to carry out the remedy it agreed to in a previous complaint.

“The man in this case did not have any choice in the accommodation he could move to and the evidence suggests that the home he was given was never likely to be a good fit. I find that the council did not adequately consider alternative housing options for the man before placing him in extra care housing.”

She added: “The council did not adequately explain the charges to the man before he moved into the home, and I question whether it can ever be fair to ask someone to pay for personal care when they do not want to use the service.”