> | Accessiblity Options | Text Only | Text Size: A+ A- Reset | Links | Site Map
LGO Advice Team: 0300 061 0614
Quality and efficiency
Click here for speech assisted browser support
Files with this symbol are in .pdf format. To view these files you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. It can be downloaded below free of charge. Click To Download
Housing benefit Maladministration causing injustice
06 December 2007
Mrs F complained about the Council’s delay in paying her housing benefit after her successful appeal against its decision that she was not entitled to benefit.
Mrs F applied for housing benefit. When the Council said she was not entitled to benefit, she appealed and was successful. However, there was then a delay of 14 months in paying benefit. The Council took no action for 10 months after losing the appeal, and did so then only after Mrs F had complained to the Ombudsman. There was then a further delay of four months in carrying out a full assessment after she had provided additional information in support of her claim that was not linked to the correct case reference number. The complaint also revealed that the Council was not monitoring its performance against targets agreed as a result of previous complaints to the Ombudsman from other people in similar circumstances.
The Ombudsman said: “The failure to monitor what was going on, despite the fact that Mrs F’s complaint was subject to an investigation by my office, suggests a level of carelessness which goes beyond the initial error.”
To remedy the injustice from the delay in paying Mrs F’s claim, the Ombudsman recommended that the Council should:
Date Updated: 13/01/09
are in .pdf format. To view these files you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. It can be downloaded below free of charge. Click To Download