Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not provide her with COVID-19 funding, causing financial loss and distress. We found no fault in the Council’s decision making but we found fault because its published policy was not clear. We recommended the Council provide Ms X with an apology and £100 for distress and uncertainty.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has not provided her with financial support due under COVID-19 grant schemes. She says she has spent time trying to access support, suffered financially, incurred debt and been unable to make use of her car. She has also suffered physically and mentally as the stress has exacerbated her disabilities and associated symptoms.
2. Ms X also complains the Council has not spent its funds correctly and has reported its spending inaccurately.

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What I have and have not investigated

3. I have investigated the complaint at paragraph 1 limited to the 12 month period before Ms X contacted us. This is because older complaints are out of time and there is no good reason to exercise discretion. I have not investigated the second complaint as any fault did not cause Ms X further injustice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. 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)
6. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

7. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

8. I spoke to Ms X and I reviewed documents provided by Ms X and the Council.
9. I gave Ms X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

COVID Winter Grant Scheme

10. The Government provided funding to councils to support those most in need across England with the cost of food, energy, water bills and other essentials.
11. Funding was available from December 2020 to 16 April 2021.
12. Councils had the flexibility to identify which vulnerable households were in most need of support and apply their own discretion when identifying eligibility.
13. The Council published details of its scheme in Decision book 620 issued on 7 January 2021.
14. Its scheme provided food and fuel support to families with school aged children.
15. The identified stakeholders were “Families with children who attend Reading schools and other vulnerable households who require additional support to avoid additional debt/stress over the winter period.”

Household support fund

16. On 30 September 2021, the Government announced a new support fund to help households with essentials over winter. This funding covered the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 inclusive.
17. Councils had the flexibility to identify which vulnerable households were in most need of support and apply their own discretion when identifying eligibility.
18. Councils could request applications for support or proactively identify households who may benefit, or take a mixture of the two approaches.

Council’s Household Support Fund

19. The Council published details of its scheme in Decision book 641 issued on 19 October 2021.
20. This set out its decision to use the funding (previously known as the Covid Local Support Grant and the Covid Winter Grant Scheme).
21. The Council ran a targeted food voucher scheme of (£20 per child) for families with school age children eligible for Pupil Premium Free School Meals, vulnerable children up to nursery age and care leavers for each week of the October half term, Christmas Holiday, and February half term (2022).
22. The Council would also provide £98 worth of energy vouchers to all families with children that are part of the council tax reduction scheme.
23. The Council advertised its scheme on its website. This said:
• Funding for the scheme was through the new Household Support Funding scheme, previously known as the Covid Local Support Grant and the Covid Winter Grant Scheme.
• It would give food vouchers worth £20 per week to families with school age children eligible for Pupil Premium Free School Meals, vulnerable 2 year olds and care leavers.
• Families with children that were part of the council tax reduction scheme would receive two energy vouchers to the value of £49 per voucher.
• It would write to all those eligible directly with details of how to claim their voucher.

Pupil premium free school meals

24. Gov.uk explains this funding is available to primary and secondary schools with children up to age 16.

Further education free meals

25. The 1996 Education Act requires maintained schools and academy sixth forms to provide free meals to disadvantaged students who are aged over 16.

Winter watch

26. Winter Watch is a Council service providing general energy advice.

What happened

27. Ms X had two children up to age 16 and attending secondary school in summer 2021, X and Y. Y left secondary school in summer 2021 and then attended college.
28. In March 2022 Ms X complained to the Council:
• It had allocated food vouchers in October 2021, December 2021 and February 2022 but she did not receive these.
• There was a lack of publicity about its schemes to support food and fuel costs.
• There was a lack of knowledge within the Council of available schemes.
• It had failed to allocate funds; she had received no support and there was no way to claim support.
29. The Council replied:
• It targeted funding.
• It gave food vouchers to eligible children attending its schools.
• Ms X’s children did not attend its schools.
• Where her child attended a school out of area that council issued vouchers.
• It gave her a fuel voucher in December 2021.
30. Ms X complained further:
• During the first lockdown [March 2020] the Council told her it could get her £150 shopping vouchers but she had not received this.
• Y attended college in the Council’s area; X attended a school out of area.
• She should get support from the Council as she lived in its area.
• She heard some funding was available if people contacted Adult Social Care but she left messages to no avail.
• Information suggested there would be an application process but she did not find one.
• The Council’s website had a broken weblink for applications.
31. The Council responded:
• It had not seen evidence its officer offered her £150 shopping vouchers.
• It had arrangements with the neighbouring council that they would each provide food vouchers based on the location of the school. She received £750 in vouchers from the other council.
• It had checked records and found Y was not included as eligible for free school meals since moving to college in its area in September 2021. However, it would now send her vouchers totalling £120.00 to cover September 2021 to April 2022 for Y in any event.
• It identified Ms X as eligible for fuel support and paid her a voucher of £98 in December 2021.
• In January 2022 she asked about Winterwatch and it gave her a phone number for the relevant Adult Social Care (ASC) team. It had no record she had called that team. Its ASC team did not offer food vouchers.
• Its website did not say parents could apply for help.
• She could contact the Ombudsman.
32. Ms X further complained to her local MP that:
• She was unhappy with the Council’s response.
• She received food vouchers totalling £200 not £750.
• The neighbouring council provided £15 weekly vouchers but Reading gave £20 and she should have got that.
• Y also received free school meals.
• She had evidence a social worker promised her £150 vouchers.
• She had records of call to an ASC line where she left messages. (This number differs to the numbers advertised for Winter Watch and ASC).
• She referred to the Council’s advert for the schemes (see paragraph 23).
33. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman in June 2022. She enclosed evidence of calls to a number that she said was an ASC line. She also provided undated correspondence from her to the Council requesting support and referencing £150 vouchers.
34. When I spoke to Ms X she said she had copies of messages from a social worker offering £150 vouchers. I asked Ms X to send me these however this evidence was not provided.
35. Ms X also said the Council did not have an application process but its website held a weblink to further information and this was broken.
36. In response to enquiries the Council:
• Said it did not receive any complaint from Ms X regarding a lack of support from COVID 19 funding available December 2020 to April 2021.
• Enclosed emails to show it intended to use its grant funding to support children who attended schools in its area only, irrespective of their home address.
• Said it had no arrangement with neighbouring councils except that they had each agreed to support children attending schools in their own area.

Findings

37. I have discontinued my investigation into Ms X’s complaint that she was not given £150 vouchers as this is out of time and there is not enough evidence of fault.
38. I have discontinued my investigation into Ms X’s complaint that the Council did not provide COVID-19 funding up to April 2021 as this is out of time, she has not completed the Council’s complaints process in relation to this and there is no evidence of fault.
39. As to the Council’s Household Support Fund, applicable from October 2021, it was up to the Council whether to have an application process or target support. The Council decided to target support by contacting those eligible directly. I find no fault.
40. The Council’s website made clear it would identify who to issue vouchers to and it did not refer to an application process. I find no fault.
41. There is a lack of evidence regarding a broken weblink but this alone, although inconvenient, would not amount to fault.
42. It was up to the Council to decide who was eligible for support. Its decision notice said it would provide vouchers to children eligible for pupil premium free school meals (FSM). Its website also said this. However, this was not accurate. It is clear from the Council’s earlier policy, from its correspondence with neighbouring councils and its practice, that it would only provide vouchers to those children on FSM at schools in its area.
43. The Council was entitled to reach such a decision on eligibility however it did not make this clear in its decision notice or on its website publication. This is fault. Ms X mistakenly thought she was eligible for food vouchers from the Council and suffered avoidable distress and uncertainty as a result. I am also satisfied on balance she would have spent time trying to access vouchers she thought were due, and it is clear she spent time complaining. This is injustice.
44. X did not attend school in the Council’s area and so the Council did not issue food vouchers to X in line with its agreed approach. I find no fault.
45. Y did not attend school in the Council’s area either. Although Y attended college in the Council’s area from September 2021, college students do not receive “pupil premium free school meals” and were not eligible for vouchers under the Council’s policy. That the Council did not issue food vouchers for Y is not fault.
46. Ms X would need to raise a complaint with the relevant council if she maintains it did not send her all food vouchers as it should have done.
47. It is not in dispute the Council gave Ms X an ASC number to call however there is no record to show what number it gave and the Council confirms its ACS team received no calls from Ms X. I accept Ms X called a number and no-one answered or responded to her messages. But I cannot say this is the same number she was given or that she called a manned Council line. There is not enough evidence of fault.
48. Ms X does not dispute she received a fuel voucher in line with the Council’s policy.

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Agreed action

49. To remedy the injustice set out above the Council should carry out the following actions within one month of the date of my decision:
• Provide Ms X with an apology;
• Pay Ms X £100 for distress and uncertainty.
50. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
51. The Council has accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

52. I find no fault in the Council’s decisions on Ms X’s eligibility for funding however I find fault because its policy was not clear. The Council has accepted my recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman