Summary: Ms X complains that the Council unreasonably delayed making her an extended payment of housing benefit. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the matter is out of time.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council unreasonably delayed making her an extended payment of housing benefit.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the complainant's and Council's comments. The complainant has commented on the draft decision before the final decision.

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What I found

5. Ms X made a claim for an extended housing benefit payment in 2018 when she first became aware of a possible entitlement.
6. Some benefits stop if a claimant goes back to work, work more hours or earns more money.
7. If this happens, a council might award an extra 4 weeks of housing benefit (‘Extended Payment of Housing Benefit’)
8. Ms X applied in 2018 for the period February to March 2017. The payment was finally made in August 2018. She was paid £234 for the period.
9. The failure to make a decision about an extended payment could have been the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman up to August 2019 without being out of time. I see no reason why such a complaint could not have been made within 12 months of the request. The matter is therefore out of time. Further, the payment was finally made and any delay would have led to a loss of interest on the amount. I am not persuaded that the loss of interest is sufficient in itself to warrant investigation.

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Final decision

10. I will not investigate this complaint because the matter is out of time and the injustice does not warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman