Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/01096/25
The Complaint
The complaint in this case arose from the applicant’s report of fraud. The applicant’s late mother resided in a regulated care home for a period. The care home did not make an application for government funded Free Personal and Nursing Care (FPNC). The applicant’s family were asked to pay in full for her care. The applicant challenged this with the care home and the local council. The applicant reported the matter to Police Scotland as potential fraud or financial harm to a vulnerable adult. He thereafter met with a police officer at his local police station, who assessed that no crime had occurred and that the dispute was a civil matter.
We have reviewed the handling of one complaint, namely that:
Police Scotland would not investigate a report of the applicant’s mother’s FPNC being withheld.
Police Scotland's Decision
Police Scotland did not uphold the applicant’s complaint.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland did not handle the complaint to a reasonable standard.
We have made a recommendation to address shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaint. In summary, we recommend that Police Scotland undertake any necessary further enquiries and re-assess the complaint, taking account of our observations. A further well-reasoned response should then be provided to the applicant.
Our recommendation should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report.
Police Bodies: Police Scotland