Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a Disabled Facilities Grant. We could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). She says the Council has misinformed her during the application process and she believes she is entitled to a payment under the scheme.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

4. Disabled Facilities Grants are provided under the terms of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Councils have a statutory duty to give grants to disabled people for certain adaptations. Before approving a grant, a council must be satisfied the work is necessary, meets the disabled person’s needs, and is reasonable and practicable.
5. A council should decide a grant application as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, the timescales for moving through the stages will depend on the urgency and complexity of the works required. 
6. Mrs X says that during a face-to-face assessment meeting, the Council told her that it did not have any money, so it is unlikely the grant would be approved. As a result, she says that she went ahead and completed the works privately.
7. The Council say that it told Mrs X of the timeframes regarding the grant’s application process and when the money would be paid. It says that Mrs X told it, that she would fund the works herself, and she did not want a further visit with a senior occupational therapist to discuss the DFG.
8. Mrs X and the Council have different views about exactly what was said during the assessment. Without an independent third-party witness to the event, it is difficult for me to conclude fairly that the Council misinformed Mrs X. It follows that an investigation by us would not add to the one carried out by the Council. For this reason, I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint as a further investigation by us would not add to the one carried out by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman