Westminster City Council (21 017 043)
Category : Benefits and tax > COVID-19
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to award her two self-isolation support payments. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council affecting its decisions.
The complaint
- The complainant, Ms X, complains the Council wrongly refused her applications for two ‘test and trace’ support payments for people who lost income as a result of contact with people who tested positive for COVID-19. She also complains the ‘test and trace’ application broke her daughter’s phone.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council refused Ms X’s applications for test and trace support payments as she did not meet the criteria for the scheme. It has explained the reasons for its decisions and there is no evidence of fault in the way they were reached. We cannot therefore criticise them.
- While Ms X believes the test and trace application broke her daughter’s phone the Council is not responsible for this. It did not develop the app and it is not responsible for its maintenance or any damage that may occur while it is in-use. Ms X may wish to seek legal advice about making a claim against those responsible if she believes she is entitled to compensation.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman