Summary: The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for the way it handled Miss B’s request for assistance with adaptions to her property. The significant delays by the Council caused Miss B frustration and put her to additional time and trouble. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice to Miss B.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains the Council delayed progressing her applications for grants for repairs and disabled adaptations to her property. Miss B says this means her living conditions are becoming more difficult.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I reviewed all the information Miss B provided with her complaint. I made enquiries with the Council and considered its response with the relevant law and guidance.
7. Miss B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I carefully considered any comments received.

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What I found

Disabled Facilities Grant (DGF)

8. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) are for people with a qualifying disability who need adaptations in their home to help them remain in their home. They are mandatory and must be awarded if the applicant meets the qualifying conditions.
9. Grants are only approved if the council accepts the work is necessary and appropriate to meet the needs of the disabled person. The assessment of need is usually completed by an occupational therapist. A council should give the applicant a decision as soon as reasonably practicable. This must be within six months of the date of the grant application. If the council refuses the grant it must explain why. The applicant can challenge the decision.

Home Improvement Agency (HIA)

10. The Council use the House Improvement Agency to advise and help vulnerable residents with repairs, improvements and adaptations to their homes.
11. It says typically most of the work is requested by the Occupational Therapist service to support clients who are having difficulty getting around their home due to a physical disability or sensory impairment.
12. Once the Council receives a referral, the HIA will visit you at home to discuss needs and may offer advice and guidance in the following areas:
• help applying for grants
• conduct technical surveys
• arrange for estimates or specifications
• help find suitable builders to carry out the work
• supervise the work through to satisfactory completion
• refer you to other agencies to access welfare benefits, concessions or service
• set out housing options if you want to consider moving to more suitable accommodation.
13. The advisory service is free and but if work is carried out with the support of the HIA surveyors, there is usually a fee which will vary according to the complexity and cost of the work. If a resident qualifies for a grant the fee may be included in the grant.

What happened

14. Miss B owns her property. She has a disability which affects her mobility.
15. In February 2016 Miss B asked the Council about a grant to repair her leaking roof and damp in the property. An officer visited and assessed her application. Miss B qualified for grant in respect of her finances, but the Council needed to conduct a survey at the property to establish if the required work was eligible.
16. This survey was completed in September 2016, but the Council did not decide whether the criteria for the grant was met until July 2018. It decided it did not meet the criteria but did not inform Miss B.
17. Miss B complained to the Council in November 2017. She says she did not receive a response and complained to the Ombudsman in November 2018. We referred the complaint back to the Council because it had not completed its own complaint process.
18. In February 2019, the Council received an occupational therapy referral. This listed additional works now required because of a deterioration in Miss B’s mobility. The referral recommended a downstairs wet room/ toilet and ramps. Due to the additional work the Council said a further assessment was necessary.
19. In March 2019 the Council told Miss B how much she would have to contribute towards the work.
20. In May 2019 the Council provided Miss B with a response to her complaint. It said it used its discretion to allow a grant for roof and damp works despite it not meeting usual criteria. It said it would produce a specification and contact contractors and Miss B. This response did not mention the further works recommended by the occupational therapy assessment.
21. In November 2019 the Council arranged another survey to consider the occupational therapist recommendations and any other issues identified at the property. It said after the survey it would produce a specification to arrange funding.
22. At the end of December 2019 the Council provided its final response to Miss B’s complaint. It upheld Miss B’s complaint:

“I would like to offer the Council’s sincere apologies for the delays you have experienced. There has been unreasonable delay from when you initially contacted the Council about this matter, and I am very sorry that you should have been put to the trouble and inconvenience of having to chase the Council for information on the progress of your application. In conclusion, your complaint is upheld”

23. It offered Miss B £400 in recognition of the delay and her time and trouble pursuing the complaint.
24. In February 2020 the Council requested quotes from contractors.
25. Miss B brought her complaint back to the Ombudsman. She said despite the Council’s response in December there was no progress with the work at her property.
26. In April 2020 the Council wrote to Miss B and set out the schedule of work, quotations and design options for the shower room.
27. In June 2020 Miss B withdrew her applications for the work at her property and the DFG.

My findings

28. I find fault with the Council for the way it handled Miss B’s grant applications. It failed to progress these in a timely fashion. There are long periods of inaction with no explanation, which caused significant delays.
29. This caused Miss B frustration and time and trouble chasing the Council for a response and complaining to both the Council and the Ombudsman.
30. After the Councils final complaint response in December 2019 there was progress with the case. The Council got quotes and visited the address with the contractor to assess the feasibility of different options for the shower room.
31. Miss B asked the Council to put the shower room under the stairs. The Council says this option is not feasible because the structural alterations required are beyond the scope of the DFG. It gave her drawings of two options to consider and asked her to let it now her decision.
32. Miss B does not agree with the Council’s options for the shower room. She withdrew her application in June 2020. Due to this the Council closed the case.
33. I’ve carefully considered the injustice in this case. Miss B suffered frustration and uncertainty because of the way the Council initially dealt with her query between 2016 and 2018. She was also put to the time and trouble of pursuing her complaint during this period.
34. However, because Miss B withdrew her application before a final outcome I do not know what work would have been done at her property. The issues Miss B raised about the proposed adaptions for the wet room could have also been an issue if the case was progressed more quickly.
35. I asked the Council what caused the delays and what it has done to prevent a recurrence in other cases. It says there were staff shortages and a backlog of cases. It says there is a new process in place to reduce the time taken to allocate cases and allow surveyors to attend properties more quickly.

Agreed action

36. Within one month of my final decision the Council agrees to:
• Pay Miss B £500 in recognition of the frustration, uncertainty, time and trouble it caused her.
• Provide the Ombudsman with evidence that since it started the new process it is meeting the timeframes set out in the DFG guidance.

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Final decision

37. I find fault with the Council causing injustice. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

38. Miss B says the Councils proposed adaptations for the shower room are inadequate. Miss B should complain to the Council about this matter. If she remains dissatisfied she can bring this complaint to the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman