Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council calculated the complainant’s housing benefit and council tax support. This is because the complainant could have appealed to the tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about the way the Council calculated her husband’s income for their housing benefit and council tax support claims. Mrs X wants the Council to reassess the claims and take into account all her husband’s work-related expenses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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)
4. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read the complaint and a letter the Council sent to Mrs X on 16 July. I invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

6. Mrs X applied for housing benefit and council tax support. The Council processed the claims but Mrs X disagrees with the way it calculated her husband’s income. Specifically, she disagrees with the Council’s decision not to take all of her husband’s expenses into account.
7. The Council reviewed the claims on 16 July and told Mrs X she had one month to ask for an appeal if she still disagreed with the way the Council had calculated the claim.

Assessment

8. I will not start an investigation because Mrs X could have appealed to the Social Security Tribunal and to the Valuation Tribunal if she continued to disagree with the way the Council had calculated the income. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have appealed because the tribunal is the appropriate body, established by Parliament, to consider disputes about benefit claims. The tribunals are free to use and made up of people with expert knowledge about benefits. The tribunal would have decided if the Council assessed the claims correctly.
9. Mrs X could make a late appeal to the Social Security tribunal but may still be in time to send an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. It would be for each tribunal to decide whether to accept the appeal.

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Final decision

10. I will not start an investigation because the complainant could have appealed to the tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman