Man lost free care over paying debt from home sale

A MAN lost access to free social care after he paid off a gambling debt with cash from a property sale.

The man from Wakefield inherited £98,000 after a home he jointly owned but did not live in was sold in 2018, a report by the Local Government Ombudsman revealed. Within weeks he had used the cash to settle a debt he had built up abroad.

The man, who cannot be identified, had been receiving free social care from Wakefield Council but had not originally told the council about the property, the report said.

He has now lost an appeal against the council’s decision to withdraw free social care, which was made on the basis he had more than £23,250 – the threshold at which someone must pay for their own care.

The Ombudsman said the man, referred to as Mr X in the report, claimed he had only had the £98,000 in his account for three weeks.

Evidence produced to the council showed the debt he paid “broadly matched” the proceeds from the house sale.

But the council described the evidence as “insufficient” and said it would need more information about the circumstances of the debt.

Mr X said he was unable to provide more evidence because it was a gambling debt, which had been accrued in 2017.

An assessment on whether or not withdrawing the free social care breached Mr X’s human rights backed the council’s judgment.

In their conclusion, the Ombudsman said: “I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the council. It is not my role to act as an appeal body or to decide if Mr X has deprived himself of capital.”