Care charges statement: Cllr Louise Mitchell

Taking care of the most vulnerable members of our community is one of the most important responsibilities that the council has. We work hard to deliver a good service on which people can rely. However, at times mistakes or errors can occur. I believe that we must always be open and honest when they happen, offer apologies to those affected, and provide reassurance about what we’re doing to make up for them.

We have been made aware of an error affecting our adult social care billing system. A small number of people who had been means-tested and found to be eligible to contribute financially toward their care had not been receiving bills. 

This was discovered after a resident raised their concerns that they had not been correctly charged for the care of a family member. Despite their financial assessment, their account details wrongly indicated they were not liable for care charges.

After being made aware of this issue council officers have worked hard to understand the full extent of the problem, assess its impact, and find a resolution. They have discovered that the problems stem from user error when entering data into the backend of the case management system. We have given all staff who use this system extra training to make sure the issue cannot be repeated.

In all, there are 230 people affected by this issue out of the total of approximately 3,000 who get care from the council. These include people who receive extra care, people in supported living, people who receive day care, and people in receipt of direct payments.

Everyone who has been affected, or their representatives, will shortly receive a personalised letter with individual details about their account and any monies that are owed. We will also provide contact details so they can get in touch with us for further details and support with repayments.

We have also referred ourselves to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), which investigates complaints about councils in the UK. We will cooperate with the LGO in every way that we can and will share their findings if they deem an investigation is necessary.

This is a serious error that will cause concern for those impacted. It should not have happened - I apologise wholeheartedly and sincerely for the distress caused. I want people to know that we will work with them to find a reasonable, manageable resolution to this mistake.

Cllr Louise Mitchell

Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, Waltham Forest Council