Man deprived of free social care after row over gambling debt around £98,000

A Wakefield man lost access to free social care after he paid off a gambling debt with cash from a property sale.
The man said he'd accrued a gambling debt abroad in 2017.The man said he'd accrued a gambling debt abroad in 2017.
The man said he'd accrued a gambling debt abroad in 2017.

The man 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'd used used the cash to settle a debt he'd built up abroad.

He had been receiving free social care from Wakefield Council for five years until that point, but had not originally told them about the property, the report said.

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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 man said the five-figure sum had only been in his account for three weeks.The man said the five-figure sum had only been in his account for three weeks.
The man said the five-figure sum had only been in his account for three weeks.

The Ombudsman said the man, whose identity was protected and who was referred to as 'Mr X' in their report, claimed he'd only had the £98,000 in his account for three weeks.

Evidence produced to the council showed the debt he'd 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 around the debt.

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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 judgement.

The local authority said he "Had recently spent three months abroad, in the same country he visited in 2017 and 2018, where he was able to cope with no social care".

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.

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"Mr X inherited £98,000 which means he did not qualify for free care. If he had not used the money to pay for a debt then he would still have the inheritance and would not re qualify for free care for about eight years.

"I can understand why the council will not consider changing its position unless Mr X provides evidence of the debt at the time it was incurred in 2017.

"There is no suggestion of fault in the way the council considered the case and no reason to start an investigation."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

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