Summary: Ms X complained the Council has repeatedly suspended and changed her entitlements to Housing Benefits and Council Tax Support. Ms X also complained the Council has delayed in handling her appeals which has prevented her from approaching the relevant tribunals. We found fault with the Council for delays in registering her Housing Benefits appeal with the tribunal. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and pay her £100 for the inconvenience and frustration caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council has repeatedly suspended and changed her entitlements to Housing Benefits and Council Tax Support.
2. Ms X also complained the Council has delayed in handling her appeals which has prevented her from approaching the relevant tribunals.

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

3. I have investigated Ms X’s complaints about the Council’s delays in handling Ms X’s requests for reviews and appeals of her Housing Benefits, Council Tax Benefits or Council Tax Support.
4. I have not investigated Ms X’s complaints about her entitlement to Housing Benefits, Council Tax Benefits or Council Tax Support. This is because Ms X has appeal rights to either the First-Tier tribunal or the Valuation tribunal about her entitlement to these benefits. It is proper that Ms X uses her appeal rights for her entitlement to these benefits through the relevant tribunals.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. 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)
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
7. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
8. 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

9. I have considered all the information Ms X provided. I have also asked the Council questions and requested information, and in turn have considered the Council’s response.
10. Ms X and the Council had opportunity to comment on my draft decision before I made my final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Housing Benefits

11. Housing Benefit helps qualifying people on low incomes pay their rent. It is administered and paid by the council. The Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) set out the rules councils must follow for calculating and paying Housing Benefit.
12. The Council must make decisions about Housing Benefits in writing. The notice must also advise claimants of their rights to ask for more information and to appeal.
13. If someone disagrees with a housing benefit decision, they can ask for a review or appeal to the First-Tier tribunal. If they have a review, and are unhappy with the decision, they can request an appeal to the tribunal. A person can only make an appeal to the tribunal through the Council, who should approach the tribunal on a person’s behalf.
14. The law says people should appeal within one month of the date of the decision they think is wrong.

Council Tax benefits

15. Before 1 April 2013 people on a low-income or in receipt of benefit could apply for Council Tax Benefit. The benefit would reduce the overall amount of Council Tax payable for the year.
16. Decisions about Council Tax Benefits are appealed to the First Tier Tribunal in the same manner as Housing Benefits appeals.

Council Tax Reduction/Support

17. Councils can award a discretionary Council Tax Reduction/Support to reduce a claimant’s Council Tax, using their powers under S13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended). Each council should have its own scheme. Somebody experiencing financial hardship because of a decision about wrongly paid Council Tax Reduction/Support, can apply for a discretionary reduction.
18. A person can appeal a Council’s decision about Council Tax Reduction/Support to the Valuation Tribunal.
19. The Council’s policy on appeals and disputes about Council Tax Reduction/Support says that following a decision on Council Tax Reduction/Support a person can:
• Ask for a written explanation of the decision.
• Challenge the decision and ask the Council to look at it again.
• Make an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
20. The Council says a person should request a written explanation within one month a decision but there are no time limits on challenging or appealing a decision.
21. If a person challenges a decision and remains unhappy with the Council’s response, they may approach the Valuation Tribunal directly.
22. Because of the opportunity for appeal to the tribunal for Housing Benefits, Council Tax Benefits and Council Tax Reduction/Support, we would not normally investigate complaints about this type of decision.

What happened

23. On 30 April 2022, the Council told Ms X about changes to her Housing Benefits, Council Tax Benefits and Council Tax Reduction/Support.
24. Ms X contacted the Council on 7 May 2022 to query these changes.
25. The Council responded to Ms X on 24 May 2022 to advise the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provided it with information that showed Ms X’s income changed. The Council said this prompted a change to her benefit entitlement.

What happened – Housing Benefits

26. Ms X appealed the Council’s Housing Benefits decision on 30 May 2022.
27. On 4 August 2022, the Council responded to Ms X’s appeal request. The Council said it is obliged to adjust Ms X’s Housing Benefits in line with information provided by the DWP. The Council provided an explanation about its calculations for Ms X’s average wage and how this impacted on her Housing Benefits.
28. Ms X responded to the Council on 10 August 2022 to reiterate her request for the Council to lodge an appeal.
29. The Council issued an amended decision for Ms X’s Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefits on 6 September 2022. The Council increased Ms X's Housing Benefits but decreased her Council Tax Benefits.
30. Ms X chased the Council to lodge her Housing Benefits appeal on 21 September 2022. Ms X complained the Council was not lodging her appeal.
31. Ms X reiterated her request for the Council to lodge an appeal for her Housing Benefits on 7 October 2022.
32. The Council responded to Ms X on 20 October 2022. The Council said it had not considered Ms X’s Housing Benefits appeal at the local level so could not pass this to the first-tier tribunal. The Council admitted it should have passed her appeal request to the appeals team following her contact on 4 August 2022.
33. Ms X responded to the Council on 28 October 2022 and reiterated her request for the Council to take the Housing Benefits decision to the tribunal.
34. On 16 November 2022, the Council passed Ms X’s Housing Benefits appeal to the first-tier tribunal.
35. Within the Council’s Stage 1 complaint response, issued on 8 December 2022, it reiterated that it should have logged Ms X’s appeal request following the contact on 4 August 2022. The Council said there is no maximum timescale in dealing with appeal requests.

Analysis

36. The Council has now passed Ms X’s appeal to the first-tier tribunal meaning there is no further action needed from the Council. It is now for the tribunal to consider Ms X’s appeal and this decision lies with the tribunal.
37. While the Council has now registered the appeal with the tribunal it took the Council from 30 May 2022 until 16 November 2022 to register this appeal. This meant it took the Council slightly over 24 weeks to register the appeal.
38. The Council was correct to advise there is no maximum timescale for it to deal with requests set out in the legislation, guidance or its policies. However, the guidance says a Council should register an appeal within a “reasonable timescale” and “as soon as practicably possible”.
39. The Council had repeated opportunity to register Ms X’s appeal with the tribunal before 16 November 2022. The Council has also admitted that it should have passed the matter to the tribunal in August 2022. This shows the Council did not register the appeal “as soon as practicably possible”. The delays in registering the appeal with the tribunal was fault. This fault caused Ms X inconvenience and frustration in needing to follow this matter up with the Council to get her appeal registered.

What happened – Council Tax Benefits

40. The Council issued an amended decision for Ms X’s Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefits on 6 September 2022.
41. On 8 September 2022, the Council issued a bill for £871.69 for Ms X’s Council Tax.
42. The Council issued a revised bill on 18 September 2022 which reduced Ms X’s balance to £871.56 by removing £0.13 in charges. The Council simultaneously produced a bill for £0.13 for Ms X’s former property.
43. Ms X made a formal request to lodge a Council Tax Benefits appeal on 7 October 2022.
44. On 13 November 2022, the Council cancelled the bill of £0.13 for Ms X’s former property. The Council then put this £0.13 charge back onto a bill for Ms X’s current property on 19 November 2022.
45. The Council responded to Ms X’s appeal about the Council Tax Benefits on 23 November 2022. The Council said:
• It made an error in September 2022 with Ms X’s Council Tax Benefits. The result of this error was production of two bills; one for £0.13 for her former home and one for £871.56 for her current home.
• It should have credited £0.13 to the Council Tax account for Ms X’s former home to settle this balance but instead applied this to Ms X’s current home reducing the balance to £871.56 instead of £871.69.
• The Council has now reduced the balance to zero for Ms X’s former home and increased the balance back to £871.69 for her current home. The Council said this corrected the errors in September 2022.
• Since it had revised its September 2022 bill removing the outstanding balance while the appeal was pending, Ms X’s appeal for her Council Tax Benefits had now lapsed for her former home. The Council said this was because its decision on the Council Tax Benefits was more advantageous to Ms X.

Analysis

46. The Council was correct that Regulation 17(1) sets outs that an appeal to the tribunal will lapse if the Council changes its previous decision to a more advantageous decision for a person.
47. I have reviewed the billing produced for the application of the Council Tax Benefits and note that the Council made an error in September 2022 for Ms X’s former property. The Council corrected this error by removing the billing for the previous property. This did not put Ms X in a more advantageous position because this charge should never have existed. However, I do not find fault in the Council failing to lodge an appeal with the tribunal for Ms X’s former property because there was no charge to appeal.
48. While the decision to remove the balance from the Council Tax account for Ms X’s former property resulted in a nil charge, the change to her current property did not.
49. However, the Council removed a charge of £0.13 in September 2022 and then reapplied this in November 2022. Overall, Ms X has experienced no change to her billing for Council Tax Benefits from before 8 September 2022 to after 18 November 2022.
50. Ms X requested the Council lodge an appeal for the Council’s decision in September 2022 about her Council Tax Benefits. This appeal was not specific to her former property but to the Council’s decision in general. The Council corrected the errors made in September 2022 by November 2022. Since the Council corrected these errors it no longer needed to lodge the appeal with the tribunal.
51. Should Ms X wish to lodge an appeal about any changes to her Council Tax Benefits since November 2022, she would need to request this of the Council directly.

What happened – Council Tax Reduction/Support

52. Ms X appealed the Council’s Council Tax Reduction/Support decision to the Valuation Tribunal on 30 May 2022.
53. On 15 June 2022, the Council wrote off £3.56 from Ms X’s Council Tax balance reducing the balance owed. The Council did this because of an error in its previous calculation of Council Tax Reduction/Support.
54. The Council contacted Ms X on 16 June 2022 following from the change to her Council Tax Reduction/Support. The Council said:
• Following her application to the Valuation Tribunal on 30 May 2022, the tribunal asked it to prepare submission of papers.
• In preparation of the papers, it needed to ensure it had adhered to the rules set out in its Council Tax Reduction scheme. The Council admitted that if failed to follow the rules set out in the scheme and accepted fault.
• It has corrected her Council Tax Reduction/Support and reduced the balance owed on her Council Tax on 15 June 2022.
• Miss X could write to the Council within one month to request an explanation or a review of this Council Tax Reduction/Support decision.
• Miss X could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about its revised decision within two months if she continues to disagree with it.
55. On 10 August 2022, Ms X contacted the Council about her Council Tax Reduction/Support and asked for an explanation of its decision on this matter.
56. The Council issued a bill to Ms X on 18 September 2022 which included its decision on her Council Tax Reduction/Support. This bill contained details of how Ms X could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal should she disagree with the Council’s decision about Council Tax Reduction/Support.
57. Ms X reiterated her request for an explanation of the Council Tax Reduction/Support decision on 21 September 2022. Ms X said the Council Tax Reduction/Support decision was “overwhelming and confusing”.
58. Ms X asked the Council for an appeal of the Council Tax Reduction/Support decision of 18 September 2022 on 7 October 2022.
59. On 20 October 2022, the Council provided a response to Ms X about her Council Tax Reduction/Support. The Council explained Ms X’s entitlement for Council Tax Reduction/Support changed depending on her average income and provided a breakdown of its calculations. The Council also explained about changes in the age of her children had impacted on her entitled to Council Tax Reduction/Support.
60. Ms X responded to the Council on 28 October 2022 and said the Council had made many changes to her Council Tax bills and she needed an independent appeal.
61. The Council responded to Ms X on 23 November 2022 to advise Ms X could approach the Valuation Tribunal with her concerns about Council Tax Reduction/Support.
62. Ms X has raised this matter with the Valuation Tribunal and is awaiting a hearing.

Analysis

63. All Council Tax bills produced by the Council contain an explanation that a person can contact the Council within one month of production of the bill to seek an explanation of the bill. These bills also detail that a person can approach the Valuation Tribunal if they dispute the bill, provided they do so within two months of the bill.
64. The billing produced by the Council clearly details a person’s appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal about its decision on Council Tax Reduction/Support.
65. Ms X lodged an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal at the start of 2022 about the Council’s decision for her Council Tax Reduction/Support. This shows that Ms X was aware of her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal and knew how to use these rights.
66. The Council amended its decision on Ms X’s Council Tax Reduction/Support in response to contact from the Valuation Tribunal on 16 June 2022. The Council took suitable steps and I do not find fault.
67. Following this revised decision, the Council told Ms X she had one month to request a revised decision or explanation from it about this decision. Ms X did not contact the Council within this timescale to request an explanation. As such, I cannot find fault with the Council for failing to provide this response when Ms X did request an explanation.
68. When the Council made a further revised decision on 18 September 2022, Ms X requested an explanation within a month. The Council provided its response on 20 October 2022 to provide an explanation of how it reached its Council Tax Reduction/Support decision. This Council has acted in line with its policy and I do not find fault.
69. When the Council provided its explanation on 20 October 2022, Ms X still had, nearly, a further month to engage her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal until 18 November 2022.
70. When Ms X made a challenge to the Council’s decision, it only provided a further response on 23 November 2022 to advise Ms X could approach the Valuation Tribunal with her complaint. Ms X has engaged her appeal rights to the Valuation Tribunal. The Council has provided Ms X with her appeal rights and I do not find fault with the Council.

Back to top

Agreed action

71. Within one month of the Ombudsman’s final decision the Council should:
• apologise to Ms X and pay her £100 for the inconvenience and frustration it caused through the delays in registering the Housing Benefits appeal and Council Tax Benefits appeal with the tribunal.
72. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

73. There was fault by the Council as the Council has agreed to my recommendation I have completed my investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman