Summary: Mr E complained the Council refused him a test and trace support payment after he contracted COVID-19. We do not uphold the complaint, finding no fault in the Council’s decision.

The complaint

1. I have called the complainant ‘Mr E’. He complains that in July 2021 the Council refused him a £500 test and trace support payment.
2. Mr E says he lost wages when he had to self-isolate after contracting COVID-19. He is upset the Council has not made a support payment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. This complaint involves events that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government introduced a range of new and frequently updated rules and guidance during this time. We can consider whether the Council followed the relevant legislation, guidance and our published “Good Administrative Practice during the response to COVID-19”.
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. Before issuing this decision statement I considered:

• Mr E’s written complaint to the Ombudsman and any supporting information he provided including screen shots showing his mobile phone call history;
• correspondence between Mr E and the Council pre-dating our investigation of the complaint;
• further information provided by the Council in reply to my enquiries;
• relevant law and guidance as set out below.

7. I also sent Mr E and the Council a draft decision statement and gave them chance to comment. I took account of any comments made before issuing this final decision statement.

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What I found

Test and Trace Support Payments

8. The Government has set up a scheme to support people on a low income who must self-isolate when they contract COVID-19. It is administered by local councils.
9. To qualify a person must:

• have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace service or the NHS COVID-19 app;
• have responded to messages from NHS Test and Trace and have provided any legally required information, such as details of close recent contacts;
• be employed or self-employed; unable to work from home and losing income as a result of self-isolating;
• be in receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit (or the partner of someone receiving such a benefit) or otherwise be on a low income (the Council has discretion to make a payment where someone is not in receipt of a qualifying benefit and it publishes additional information about this online).

Key facts

10. In July 2021 Mr E was told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace as he tested positive for COVID-19. He applied to the Council for a support payment.
11. The Council refused an award. It said this was because he had “not engaged with the NHS Test and Trace service during the period of your isolation”. The Council has told me that it obtained this information by checking the NHS Test and Trace database which selected officers can access.
12. Mr E asked the Council to reconsider its decision. He said he had been in contact with NHS Test and Trace “several times” while isolating.
13. In August 2021 the Council completed its reconsideration and again refused Mr E a support payment. It said Mr E had not engaged with the NHS Test and Trace service. In particular, it implied he had not responded to texts and emails from that service. The Council has told me it reached this decision after again checking the NHS Test and Trace database and making a telephone call to that service to confirm the information it contained was correct. It was told by the service that Mr E had not returned emails or text messages.
14. In his complaint to this office Mr E has sent in screenshots showing he took three calls from NHS Test and Trace. One of those calls lasted around 15 minutes and the others around three to four minutes each. The Council had not seen these screenshots until we brought them to its attention. But it says these call records would not have affected its decision. The Council says this is because it must rely on the information supplied via NHS Test and Trace. It says the phone records offer no proof Mr E “completed his journey” through that procedure.
15. The Council also says that checks it undertook at the time of Mr E’s application indicated his income was too high to have qualified for a support payment in any event.

My findings

16. Where a council has followed the correct process, considered all relevant information and given clear reasons for its decision, we cannot criticise it. We do not make decisions on a council’s behalf or provide a route of appeal against their decisions.
17. In deciding whether to make an NHS Test and Trace support payment the correct process for the Council is to first check an applicant’s eligibility via the NHS Test and Trace service. It is not responsible for the information recorded by that service, which is compiled by the NHS. So, when the Council is told by NHS Test and Trace that someone does not qualify for a support payment because they have not fully co-operated with that service, the Council must accept that information in good faith. We would only expect it to question that information if there was evidence which clearly contradicted it.
18. I find no fault in the Council’s decision to initially refuse Mr E a support payment based on the information the NHS Test and Trace service gave it. Because it held no evidence which would clearly contradict this.
19. If someone challenges the refusal of an award, the correct process is for the Council to check the information it holds. So, I would expect the Council to double check information it is given by NHS Test and Trace. That is what it did here, checking again the NHS Test and Trace database and making a telephone call to that service. When the NHS Test and Trace service confirmed its record, the Council again had no choice but to refuse Mr E a support payment. So, there was also no fault in its decision on review.
20. I recognise Mr E’s screenshots provide evidence that he did speak to NHS Test and Trace, but not that its records were necessarily wrong. I consider it is only the NHS which can explain why it has not recorded him as not having fully engaged with it (although I note Mr E has not directly challenged the view that he failed to reply to texts or emails it sent). But even if new evidence came to light showing NHS Test and Trace records were incorrect that would not be evidence of fault by the Council, as it could only make a decision based on what it knew in July and August 2021.
21. I recognise Mr E does not agree with the decision made in this case. But as there is no fault in the process followed by the Council, I cannot uphold his complaint.
22. I also noted the comment made by the Council that in any event Mr E’s income was too high to qualify for a support payment. This was not something it explained to Mr E at the time. I do not know therefore if he might question this. But I saw no merit in pursuing enquiries into this matter given my findings above. As even if the Council was wrong on this point (something I must stress I have no grounds to find) it would not mean its decision to refuse Mr E a support payment was wrong.

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Final decision

23. I do not uphold the complaint as I find no fault in the Council’s decision to refuse Mr E a test and trace support payment. So, I have completed my investigation satisfied with its actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman