Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax exemption. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. We will also not investigate how the Council handled Mr X’s complaint because this is not the substantive part of the complaint, and the Council has already apologised.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council did not exempt his property from council tax and took too long to reply to his complaint. He says this caused him significant stress.

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. 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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the property in question should be exempt from council tax. The Council said it was a separate dwelling and refused to grant the exemption. After Mr X complained to us, but before we considered the complaint, the Council told Mr X he could appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if he disagreed with its decision.
8. Mr X also says the Council took too long to reply to his complaint.
9. I will not investigate this complaint because Mr X can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect him to do so as, as the tribunal has the expertise to decide the matter and the power to make a binding decision.
10. I will not investigate the Council’s handling of Mr X’s complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. Also, the Council has already apologised and it is unlikely we would achieve significantly more than that if we were to investigate.

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal on the main point of the complaint. It would be disproportionate to investigate the complaint-handling in isolation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman