Summary: We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about council tax support. This is because the law does not allow us to investigate matters that have been appealed to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the council’s decision to factor in both universal credit and earned income in its calculation of council tax support.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Ms X disputes the way the Council calculated her Council Tax support. She appealed to a Valuation Tribunal.
7. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. An appeal has been made in this case and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating complaints about matters that had been appealed to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman