HALTON Council has apologised to a disabled woman and been ordered to repay £11,700 for failing to deal with her finances properly for more than seven years.

The authority was acting as a financial appointee to look after the woman’s finances when she moved into supported accommodation in 2002 as her family lived some distance away.

However, an investigation has revealed that the council failed to identify that the woman was being overpaid income support.

It also miscalculated the woman’s entitlement to housing benefit which also resulted in an overpayment.

When the errors came to light, the council repaid the amounts leaving nothing in her account when her family took over her finances.

The woman’s sister made numerous complaints to the council and had to pursue the authority ‘relentlessly’ for answers before approaching the Ombudsman.

Local Government Ombudsman Dr Jane Martin said: “When acting as financial appointees, councils hold full responsibility for managing the finances of vulnerable people.

“Their families have every right to believe they should be acting in their relatives’ best interests.

“In this position of trust, councils need to make sure they manage those people’s finances in an effective, accountable and transparent way.”

The council was asked to reimburse the woman’s sister £400 she overpaid for her bills, £292.75 on clothes and £500 for the distress, time and trouble she has been caused.

A spokesperson for Halton Council said: "The circumstances surrounding this case are complex and not reflective of how the wider service is delivered.

“While regrettable, it must be stressed that complaints of this nature are exceptionally rare. The council has sincerely apologised to the parties involved.

"The council takes complaints of this nature extremely seriously and has accepted all of the recommendations made by the Ombudsman – many have already been implemented. "As a result of regular service reviews, structures have been changed and internal processes strengthened since these events took place.

“A recent inspection of the council’s appointeeship arrangements by the independent office of the public guardian concluded that ‘robust’ management procedures were in place."