Council told to ‘explain’ social work fine ruling

A council has received a slap on the wrist over the way it handled a complaint at a social work review meeting.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman ruled South Lanarkshire Council’s Social Work Complaints Review Committee had not given a proper explanation when throwing out a complaint from a couple.

The pair, known as Mr and Mrs A, were told they would have to pay £8700 for care home costs for an elderly relative.

The couple’s complaint centred on the fact a house owned by their relative, Mrs B, was left to them in a will.

They felt the council had no right to claim back the care home costs from Mrs B’s estate when she died in June 2009.

A firm of solicitors, Firm C, put the couple’s complaint to the CRC, which dismissed it with the explanation that they were “not persuaded” on the basis of the evidence provided.

The CRC then backed the council’s stance that the £8700 should be recovered from the estate. However, the SPSO has ruled the explanation did not go into enough detail. The ombudsman said there was “a dearth of detail provided explaining the CRC’s decision.”

The ombudsman’s report concluded that the solicitors acting on behalf of couple A “should have received a reasoned explanation at the time of the decision not to uphold their complaint.”

It added: “I make the recommendation that the omission now be rectified.”

The full recommendation read: “I recommend that the council consults with the chair and other members of the CRC with a view to the CRC producing an adequate and reasoned explanation for their decision based on the merits of Firm C’s case.”

The Ombudsman also called on the council to notify him when the recommendation had been implemented and set a deadline of March 22 this year.

The decision comes on the back of a call by the ombudsman for councils to end Scotland’s postcode lottery in how they calculate care home fees.

A South Lanarkshire Council spokeswoman, said: “The council will take action to address the ombudsman’s recommendation.”

The full report by the SPSO can be found on its website at www.spso.org.uk