A MAN with dementia ran out of savings to cover care costs after Trafford Council took more than a year to act on an application for support.

Relatives of the man, referred to as Mr B in a ruling by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), applied to the council for support in October 2020 as his savings approached the £23,250 threshold at which it becomes available.

After around eight months of inaction, his son-in-law complained and he received an apology, but still no support was forthcoming from Trafford Council. And in June of last year, Mr B ran out of savings to cover care costs of around £5,800 a month.

The debt to the care home mounted and, in November of last year, the son-in-law complained again to the council, then to the ombudsman the next month when he received no response.

It was then Trafford Council took action and covered the debt to the care home in its entirety.

Mr B had his savings reinstated to £14,250, the threshold at which someone should not use their savings at all for social care, and the council launched its own investigation into the case.

The LGSCO's ruling reads: "[Trafford Council] has accepted fault for its delay in allocating a social worker to Mr B's case, and for its failure to properly communicate with the family during the period of delay.

"Furthermore, the council has sorted out the issue with Mr B's finances. This means the injustice to Mr B has been remedied."

Trafford Council agreed to offer £250 to the son-in-law for the inconvenience caused to him. It will also write to explain its findings once its own investigation into the case is concluded.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We apologise to the gentleman and his son-in-law for any distress caused, and we accept the ombudsman’s findings.

“This error should not have occurred and we have appointed a senior manager to investigate the matter to ensure that further such issues do not occur. The outcome of this will be conveyed to staff to ensure that we learn from this unfortunate incident.”