Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s alleged failure to provide Mrs X with adaptations she needed in a timely manner. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained that after she asked the Council to arrange adaptations she needed to enable her to move around safely in her home, the Council delayed carrying them out citing budget constraints.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says she contacted the Council’s occupational therapy department in August 2023 to request a stairlift. The Council says it received the referral in December 2023. After the Council’s occupational therapist (OT) confirmed the adaptation was reasonable and Mrs X was eligible to receive it, the Council wrote to Mrs X in December 2023 to advise it did not have the budget available to carry out the work and it would place the request on hold until the following financial year.
6. Mrs X complained to the Council as she wanted the stairlift installed as soon as possible. The Council apologised for the inconvenience and told Mrs X she would be placed on a waiting list for the adaptations to be carried out as soon as the new budget was approved.
7. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council confirmed that it had ordered the stairlift in May 2024 and will be contacting Mrs X shortly to arrange installation.
8. Mrs X wants us to find the Council at fault for failing to provide the stairlift within a timely manner. The Council’s discretionary housing adaptations scheme is dependent on an annual budget and the Council has provided evidence showing it made Mrs X aware of this. Once the budget became available the Council ordered the stairlift and it kept Mrs X updated on what it was doing in the meantime. The evidence shows the Council has managed this matter in the way we would expect and so an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman