Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council calculated the complainant’s council tax support and council tax. This is because the complainant could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal and used her internal review rights.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, says the Council did not assess her council tax support (CTS) correctly and it is unfair she should have to pay so much council tax. She says she cannot pay and the system is unfair.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and a copy of the council tax bill. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council introduced a new CTS scheme in April 2025. Mrs X receives less CTS under the new scheme and her council tax has increased.
7. Mrs X says she cannot pay the increased bill and says the Council did not calculate the CTS correctly. For example, she says the Council should have ignored her Universal Credit (UC).
8. Mrs X also applied for discretionary council tax support which provides help for people facing exceptional hardship. The Council refused the application because it decided Mrs X has enough money to pay the council tax. The Council told Mrs X she could ask for a review. The Council told me Mrs X did not ask for a review.
9. I will not investigate this complaint because Mrs X could have appealed to the Valuation Tribunal if she did not think the Council had calculated her CTS correctly. It is reasonable for Mrs X to appeal because the Council notified her of her appeal rights (on the back of the bill) and because the tribunal is the correct body to consider appeals about the way a council has calculated a CTS award. The tribunal could have decided if the Council was right to have included the UC as income. The Council told me Mrs X has not appealed to the Valuation Tribunal.
10. Mrs X could have asked the Council for an internal review regarding the decision not to make a discretionary award. Again, it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to use all available review rights and we do not function as an appeal body.
11. Mrs X’s council tax has increased due to the new CTS scheme and the annual increase in the council tax. I appreciate this causes problems but we cannot change the CTS scheme or tell the Council to reduce Mrs X’s bill.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because Mrs X could have used her review and appeal rights.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman