Summary: Mr X complains he has to pay towards his Council Tax although he is on benefits. The Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme allows a maximum 75% reduction for working age claimants. The Ombudsman cannot question the Council’s properly held policy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains he is on benefits but must pay towards his Council Tax.

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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 cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (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.
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information from Mr X and The Council. I also considered the law and the Council’s policy.
7. I wrote to Mr X and the Council with my draft decision and gave them an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

8. Since 2013 every council sets its own Council Tax Reduction Scheme for those on low incomes. The law says a council can reduce the amount of council tax to “such an extent as it thinks fit”. (Local Government Finance Act 1992 section 13A)
9. There are over 300 different schemes with different rules. In England, most authorities have decided all working age claimants must make some contribution.
10. A council has the discretionary power to reduce the Council Tax to any extent it thinks fit. It can even allow a further reduction on top of any available under its Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
11. A claimant who believes a council has made a wrong decision under the Scheme can ask the council to review it. If the claimant still thinks the decision is wrong, he has a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. However, a claimant cannot appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about the terms of the Scheme.
12. North East Lincolnshire’s Scheme allows a maximum reduction of 75% of the Council Tax for working age claimants. This means all working age claimants, even those on benefits, must pay something towards Council Tax. The claimant can apply for a discretionary reduction on top of the Council Tax Reduction.
13. A council must review its Scheme every year. I have checked back to 2017 and North East Lincolnshire has reviewed its Scheme each year. The provision for working age claimants paying toward Council Tax had not changed.

What happened

14. In February 2018 Mr X claimed Council Tax Support. In January 2019 he complained to the Council that he was on benefits but had to pay £29 a month towards his Council Tax. He said in the past he did not have to make any payment.
15. The Council told him it was paying the correct amount of Council Tax Support. It told him he could apply for a discretionary extra reduction. Mr X did this, and the Council agreed to make a discretionary payment.

Analysis

16. Mr X disagrees with the Council’s Scheme as he does not think it fair someone on benefits should pay towards the Council Tax. He cannot appeal to the Valuation Tribunal about what the Scheme says. However, the Ombudsman also has no power or right to criticise a correctly held policy. The Council has followed the law when adopting its policy. The law allows it to set the maximum level of Council Tax Reduction for working age people as it sees fit. The Council decided the maximum it would pay is 75%. The Ombudsman has no right to say it should change this.
17. The Council did tell Mr X to apply for a discretionary reduction. The Council allowed this. If Mr X thinks it should have paid him more than it did, he can ask the Council to review this. If he is still unhappy, he can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

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Final decision

18. I have seen no evidence of fault by the Council. I have completed my investigation and closed the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman