Leeds City Council (23 020 270)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax support
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 08 Apr 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about payment of an Energy Rebate as there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council unreasonably decided not to award him a £150 Energy Rebate dispite satisfying the criteria.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X disputed the date of liability for Council tax. The Council visited him and agreed that he was in occupancy from 1 May 2022. However, entitlement to the Home Energy Rebate required occupancy as of 1 April 2022.
- They asked him to provide evidence of any earlier occupancy. The Council says that they did not get final proof of earlier occupancy until 23 March 2023 by which time the scheme had closed (in November 2022). So, although the liability date was eventually backdated, no rebate could be paid.
- The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
- I have considered the steps the organisation took to consider the issue, and the information it took account of when deciding not to award an Energy Rebate. There is no fault in how it took the decision and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman