El Defensor del Pueblo acaba de iniciar una actuación de oficio que propone limitar, a través de una modificación legal, la obligación de devolver el Ingreso Mínimo Vital a hogares vulnerables cuando quede acreditada la buena fe de los beneficiarios o cuando el error sea atribuible a la Administración. La modificación legal propuesta afectaría también a otras ayudas asistenciales como pensiones no contributivas de invalidez o jubilación, o los subsidios de desempleo de larga duración. 

Este planteamiento ha sido trasladado al Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones para que valore abordar una modificación del artículo 55 de la Ley General de la Seguridad Social que obliga al Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social (INSS) a reclamar todas las deudas, en todos los casos.

Los beneficiarios de ayudas asistenciales están obligados a informar a la Administración cuando reciban nuevos ingresos. Sin embargo, y a pesar de comunicarlo, las entidades gestoras tardan meses, incluso años, en revisar la prestación y cuando lo hacen reclaman la devolución de todo el periodo.

Según Ángel Gabilondo, “en las últimas semanas hemos tenido conocimiento, a través de quejas recibidas y de los medios de comunicación, de que beneficiarios del IMV están siendo contactados para que devuelvan lo cobrado en los últimos años como perceptores del Ingreso Mínimo Vital. Se trata de familias sin recursos y en situación, a veces, de extrema necesidad, que percibieron esta prestación social, y que tienen serias dificultades para hacer frente a las cantidades que ahora se les reclaman”.

“Algunas de esas familias se han dirigido a nuestra institución exponiendo esta circunstancia. Por ello hemos hecho llegar a la Administración nuestra petición de que en estos procedimientos de reclamación se atienda a la situación de emergencia económica en la que se encuentran muchas de esas familias, y no se les exija la devolución de las cantidades percibidas”, apunta Gabilondo.

La actuación de oficio se dirige también a la Secretaría de Estado de Trabajo, órgano directivo del que depende el Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal, para conocer su criterio sobre la necesidad de abordar la citada reforma legal dada la jurisprudencia al respecto.

Recientes pronunciamientos del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos y del Tribunal Supremo español consideran que se ha de entender como desproporcionado reclamar la integridad de lo cobrado, en concepto de prestaciones o ayudas asistenciales, cuando se haya podido comprobar la buena fe de los beneficiarios o cuando el error haya sido cometido por la propia Administración.

A teenager with Autism and ADHD was less than a week away from being made homeless because Devon County Council had not decided where he should live when he became 18.

The teenager had been living in a children’s home where he could remain beyond his eighteenth birthday. But with the council not agreeing to continue funding this, its lack of planning left the young man just days away from being made homeless until it finally decided where he should live.

When the council eventually found him accommodation, it was 40 miles away from his mother, who did not drive, and 60 miles away from his education placement. The teenager was expected – as a person with significant needs – to make his own way to school, unsupported, despite limited public transport options being available.

This lack of support meant the teenager missed half a term of education while the council sorted out his travel arrangements. This had a major impact on his mental health and well-being, and the lack of certainty about his situation and instability led him to be at significant risk of self-harm.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said:

“This young man had been on the council’s radar for years, so it is unfathomable why it took so long to begin planning for how he would transition from children’s to adult services when he turned 18.

“This inertia by the council, and the lack of joined-up working between departments, led to a young man – who needs stability, security and routine – having his world rocked by the uncertainty of where he would be living in future.

“I am dismayed that senior officers at the council, who made the decision about where the teenager should live, decided this course of action was acceptable.

“It appears this uncertainty was triggered primarily by the council’s adult services department’s reluctance to pay for the accommodation, at which he was settled near to his school, and its decision not to allow him to remain there was purely financially driven, taking no account of the significant effect this would have on his needs.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the teenager and make a symbolic payment of £1,000 to recognise the distress caused. It will also make a symbolic payment to his mother of £250, and arrange a meeting with her and his education provider to consider whether there is any additional tuition or support that can be provided to help make up for the lost provision.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to improve the way it plans for children’s transition to adult services and introduce a procedure for its children’s services department to escalate concerns if adult care services are not actively involved in transition planning.

It will also review communications between the two departments and brief all staff and managers involved on the changes being introduced to prevent issues recurring.