London Borough of Hounslow (21 011 039)
Category : Adult care services > Assessment and care plan
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 16 Dec 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to provide an accommodation provider with evidence it could act on behalf of a tenant. This is because the Council has now agreed to take action to a suitable remedy and there is nothing further we could achieve by investigating this complaint.
The complaint
- Ms X complains on behalf of an organisation which provides supported accommodation. Ms X says the Council failed to provide evidence it was acting on behalf of a tenant, Mr Y, when it asked to end his tenancy. Ms X says the organisation is concerned that it would not be acting lawfully without seeing evidence and may suffer financial costs of lost income as Mr Y is no longer living there.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
- We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council has accepted that it did not provide the accommodation provider with evidence that it could act on Mr Y’s behalf. Following our recommendations the Council has now provided evidence to the accommodation provided and is working with them to bring Mr Y’s tenancy to an end.
- This is a suitable remedy and there is nothing further we could achieve from further investigation.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy and there is nothing further we would achieve by investigating this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman