Summary: Ms B complains about the way the Council handled her application for Housing Benefit. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms B to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms B, says the Council delayed in telling her that she could not claim Housing Benefit and that it did not tell her how to appeal against this decision to the tribunal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), 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, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms B and the Council. I gave Ms B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Ms B submitted a Housing Benefit application form to the Council. She did not include the address for the claim or proof of income. The Council emailed her and asked for this information and a copy of the tenancy as this would enable it to decide whether she fell into one of the specific and limited groups of people who could still claim Housing Benefit or whether she should be making a claim for Universal Credit, the new benefit which now includes housing payments previously met by Housing Benefit.
6. Ms B wrote to the Council to say she was in the process of obtaining a tenancy in the Romford area. She included various receipts for hotel accommodation located in different boroughs. The Council wrote to her to ask her why she was sending it the receipts when she had not confirmed the address at which she wanted to claim.
7. Ms B complained to the Council but it did not uphold her complaint. It explained it had been unable to finalise her Housing Benefit application because she had not provided the requested information. It told her that if she had found the hotel accommodation herself, she would need to make a Universal Credit application to the DWP. It explained that the property in Romford she had asked the Council to make rent payments for was not in its area and directed her to the relevant local authority.
8. At the second stage of its complaints procedure the Council told Ms B she could no longer make a claim for Housing Benefit as she did not fall into one of the limited groups of people still able to do so and it repeated that she should make a claim for Universal Credit. It explained that as she could not claim Housing Benefit it did not have to issue a decision on the application she had made.

Assessment

9. Ms B did not provide sufficient information when she submitted her application to the Council and it properly sought to establish whether she should be claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
10. The information Ms B went on to provide was not clear and included details of a property not within the Council’s area. The Council clarified its position and advised her to make a claim for Universal Credit.
11. I have seen no evidence to suggest there was fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms B sufficient to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council or injustice caused to Ms B to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman