Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed in sending her application for Attendance Allowance to the Department for Work and Pensions. The Council was at fault for a six week delay. This meant Mrs X received her benefit later than she reasonably could have done. The Council has already apologised for the delay but it will also pay Mrs X £371.10 to reflect the benefit she missed.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council delayed in sending her application for Attendance Allowance to the Department for Work and Pensions. She said this caused her frustration and meant she missed out on benefits she should have received.

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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. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

4. I have considered:
• all the information Mrs X provided and discussed the complaint with her;
• the Council’s response to Mrs X’s complaint; and
• the Ombudsman's guidance on remedies.
5. Mrs X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background

6. Attendance Allowance is a benefit issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help people who have reached state pension age and have personal care needs.

What happened

7. Mrs X is visually impaired and contacted the Council for help applying for Attendance Allowance. A member of staff visited Mrs X in early February 2022 and helped her complete the application form.
8. The Council did not send the form to the DWP until late March 2022, despite Mrs X contacting it on several occasions to follow up. Once the DWP received the form, it awarded Mrs X the lower rate of £61.85 per week.
9. Mrs X complained to the Council and it responded to say:
• it was sorry for the delay in sending the form to the DWP;
• the delay happened because the member of staff responsible was inexperienced and made a mistake;
• it would not normally complete benefit application forms for people as it is not qualified to do so. It typically refers people to charities like Age UK. Mrs X was distressed and had refused the referral, so it had agreed to help her. To prevent such a delay occurring again, it would always refer people to those charities in future; and
• it had checked its records back to 2018 and had not found any evidence the mistake had happened previously.

Findings

10. There was seven weeks between the date the Council met with Mrs X and the date it sent the form to the DWP. The Council has accepted it was at fault for the delay. On balance, allowing time for the Council to post the form, this meant Mrs X received her benefit six weeks after she reasonably could have done.
11. While the Council has apologised and explained the reason the fault happened, it has not suitably remedied the injustice Mrs X experienced. I have therefore made a financial recommendation in paragraph 12. The Council has taken a suitable step to prevent the fault occurring again by confirming it will always refer residents to suitable charities in future.

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Agreed action

12. Within one month of the date of my final decision, the Council will pay Mrs X £371.10. This is six weeks of the lower rate of Attendance Allowance.

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Final decision

13. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault leading to personal injustice. I have recommended action to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman