Ombudsman Rules councils responsible for home costs

The Local Government Ombudsman has told councils that they are ultimately responsible for the actions of the care homes they commission services from after a local authority-funded resident was charged top up fees for the same care on top of the council’s contracted rate. In what she described as not an isolated case’ Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin ruled that Merton council was guilty of maladministration causing injustice by allowing Sutton Court Care Centre, owned by Eastbourne-based Hydefall Limited, to charge a service user more money. The family of the elderly woman had contacted Merton about having to pay the difference between the council rate and the home’s fees for private residents and then took their case to the Ombudsman. As the contract for the woman’s care was between the council and Sutton Court, Dr Martin ruled that there should have been no fee negotiation between the care home and the family as Sutton Court was not entitled to any more funding than the council’s usual rate.