Councils have been warned that changes to care commissioning must not leave existing care home residents worse off if they already have agreed levels of support.

It follows an investigation into Tameside Council where new commissioning arrangements led to a family of an 80 year old woman with dementia having to pay ‘significant additional costs’ to plug the shortfall in funding.

The council’s changes resulted in the woman’s care home being outside a new quality framework and it therefore reduced her funding. It left her son having to cover the costs or put his mother through the distress of moving elsewhere.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has asked the council to reimburse the family, apologise and pay £250 compensation. The LGO found a further 160 people could be affected and has called on Tameside to review their cases.

Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin said any changes to commissioning should not alter funding agreements that are already in place for a particular level of care.

‘Councils are entitled to take into account their resources when planning how they commission services, and many are experiencing particular pressure in adult care, but they must properly assess the impact of any changes on existing users and act in accordance with the law,’ said Dr Martin.

‘I urge all authorities to look very closely at their plans, if they are changing care commissioning in their area, to ensure that no vulnerable residents are placed in a similar position.

‘In this particular case, our complainant was in a very difficult situation, he could not move his mother and risk her health deteriorating, and he could not afford to pay the extra money the council demanded.’