Summary: We have upheld this complaint the Council has delayed in resolving a disagreement about accommodation costs. The Council has agreed to make a decision about the disputed costs within the next four weeks. That is proportionate to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained on behalf of Mr Y. He said the Council had failed to reimburse Mr Y’s hotel costs, after his accommodation broke down. He said Mr Y should not have had to pay his hotel costs as the Council was responsible for funding his accommodation.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. If we were to investigate this complaint, it is likely we would find fault causing Mr Y injustice. That is because the Council has not provided a substantive response to Mr Y’s request for reimbursement of his hotel fees. This matter has been ongoing for about 12 months. Therefore, that is a significant delay causing avoidable frustration.
6. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by issuing a decision about the reimbursement of Mr Y’s hotel costs between February 2023 and November 2023. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will contact Mr X within four weeks of our final decision.

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Final decision

7. We have upheld this complaint but decided not to investigate as the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman