Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has wrongly held a woman liable for council tax on a property. This is because the woman had a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal she could have used to dispute the Council’s decisions in her case.

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if, for example, we decide there is another body better placed to consider the complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
3. The law says we normally cannot 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 (VT) is a tribunal that deals with appeals against councils’ decisions about council tax liability, discounts, and exemptions.
5. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Miss B provided with her complaint. I also took account of the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. As indicated in paragraph 3 above, we usually cannot pursue a complaint where the person has a right of appeal to a statutory tribunal which they can use. Miss B had a right of appeal to the VT if she wished to dispute any of the Council’s decisions about her liability for council tax over the past three years.
8. The VT is an independent appeal body which provides a free service. The VT is also specifically empowered to rule on disputes about council tax liability, whereas we do not have the remit or expertise to decide this matter.
9. In the circumstances I see no reason Miss B should not be expected to have appealed to the VT in her case. As a result, I have decided we will not investigate the main issue in her complaint about liability for council tax.
10. In addition, if Council has not responded to Miss B’s requests for copies of the personal information it holds in her case, she can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent authority Parliament has set up to deal with such infringements of the data protection legislation, and is free to use. As a result I consider the ICO is best placed to deal with Miss B’s complaint in this respect and it is reasonable to expect her to use its service.
11. Miss B is also concerned that the Council has not responded to her complaints about these matters. But it is not a good use of public resources for us to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issues in question. In the circumstances I do not see we can justify starting an investigation which is just about the Council’s complaint-handling in Miss B’s case.

Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council has wrongly charged her for council tax on a property she rents out to tenants. This is because Miss B has a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal which she could have used to challenge the Council’s decision about her tax liability.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman