Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a council tax exemption application. This is because at our invitation, the Council agreed to remedy the potential injustice.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council delayed assessing her Severe Mental Impairment exemption application from July to November 2025. She says it asked for information she had already provided, and asked her to complete a new form when it had received this.
2. Miss X says the Council then delayed refunding the credit on her council tax account after it applied the exemption.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely we would find fault causing Miss X injustice. This is because the Council:
• took four months to assess Miss X’s application. It appears the Council had all the information it needed on 3 July.
• said it needed confirmation Miss X lived alone, but it already had this information.
• sent Miss X a second application form on 30 September 2025 which she completed, but it agrees this was unnecessary.
• delayed paying a refund for a further two weeks due to an apparent processing fault by the Council.
6. The Council’s delays and request for unnecessary information caused anxiety an inconvenience to Miss X.

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Agreed action

7. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by making a payment of £120 to Miss X to recognise the anxiety and inconvenience it caused.
8. The Council will complete the agreed remedy within one month of the date of this decision statement.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a proportionate remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman