Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the determination of a Council tax reduction claim as there is no evidence of fault by the Council and there was a right of appeal to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council took too long considering her claim for Council tax reduction.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Ms X says that she provided evidence in support of her claim for Council tax reduction (made in May 2023) but the Council kept asking for the same evidence again.
8. The Council says that they asked for supporting evidence on 10 May asking for that evidence to be supplied by 24 May. However, that information was provided on 19 May by the DWP about her Universal Credit.
9. The Council says that his information showed that her income was too high for Council tax reduction. The claim was refused and she was notified of her right of appeal to a tribunal (or for a review).
10. There is no evidence of unreasonable delay by the Council in determining the claim. Further, she had a right of appeal to a tribunal against the Council’s decision. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and she had a right of appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman