Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s pursuit of council tax debt. This is because the matter has either been considered during court proceedings, are made late or carried a right of appeal to a tribunal. Further investigation into how the Council has dealt with the complaints reasonable adjustments would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about how the Council pursued her for council tax debt. She says an exception against council tax should have been in place since 2017. Miss X also complains that the Council issued a summons for unpaid council tax in 2023 and that the Council has failed to comply with her reasonable adjustments when communicating with her about these matters.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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)
5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
6. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that she should have been exempt from Council tax going back to 2017. This is because disputes about liability for Council tax can be appealed to a Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal is an independent, expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. I therefore consider that it would have been reasonable to pursue an appeal in this case. The complaint is also made late, and I see no good reason why it could not have been made sooner.
10. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council issued her with a summons for unpaid council tax in 2023. This is because this matter has been subject to court proceedings which placed it outside of our jurisdiction. Miss X contacted the Court about this matter and the summons was withdrawn. The Council has subsequently applied an exemption to Miss X’s account.
11. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to follow her reasonable adjustments when communicating with her about council tax matters. The Council has had difficulty agreeing what reasonable adjustments should be in place for Miss X. It has recently told us that its Adult Social Care team will carry out a Needs Assessment to identify what support Miss X needs and what reasonable adjustments are required to assist her in communicating with the Council. We are satisfied with this approach by the Council and therefore further investigation into this point would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the issues have been subject to court proceedings, are made late or the complainant had a right of appeal to a tribunal. An investigation into how the Council dealt with Miss X’s reasonable adjustments would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman