Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to suspend, then cancel her entitlement to housing benefit. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is a right of appeal to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to suspend, then cancel her entitlement to housing benefit.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council and the complainant has had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.,

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What I found

5. The Council says it told to Ms X in August 2019 that her housing benefit would be suspended as a doubt had arisen over her entitlement.
6. The Council decided in September 2019 to cancel the claim based on the information before it.
7. Ms X says that she did not receive any communication from the Council about this.
8. Nevertheless, Ms X can still appeal to a tribunal against the decision to cancel her claim as she has up to 13 months to make an appeal (if the tribunal accepts the reason for late appeal). The tribunal is an independent, expert body whose decisions are binding on the Council. I therefore consider that it would be reasonable to pursue an appeal in this case. The complaint is therefore out of jurisdiction.

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Final decision

9. I will not investigate this complaint because there is a right of appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman