Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (25 024 701)
Category : Benefits and tax > Council tax support
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s council tax support claim. This is because his complaint is late and there is no good reason for this.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council has calculated his council tax support incorrectly because it is taking account of housing benefit he receives in his Universal Credit as income.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council in October 2024 regarding the matters in paragraph 1.
- The Council replied explaining its council tax support scheme treated payments of Universal Credit, including housing costs, as income. However, it said the housing element is not included in the applicable amount for those in remunerative work when assessing council tax support.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late as he was aware of the matter by October 2024, but he did not complain to the Ombudsman until January 2026, and there is no good reason for this. In addition, even if we were to exercise our discretion to investigate, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify our involvement. The Council explained it assesses council tax support in accordance with its local scheme, which complies with council tax reduction scheme regulations.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman