Summary: Ms X complains about the way the Council dealt with her housing benefit claim and its assessment. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because the matter has been remedied and there is a right of appeal to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the way the Council dealt with her housing benefit claim and its assessment.

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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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council and the complainant was given an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

6. Ms X, who was in receipt of housing benefit, received an email from the Council on 14 April 2020 explaining that, due to COVID 19, some childcare costs may have changed. Ms X replied the same day to say that she was waiting for a reply from the Tax Credits office and would respond when she got that reply. This was provided the next day.
7. The Council accepts that it failed to properly note Ms X’s response on 15 April and they have apologised. The claim was suspended on 21 July because they believed Ms X had not provided the information requested. However, they say that the claim had to be suspended at that point in any event as further information about Ms X’s income was required. The suspension was lifted on 24 July following receipt of that information on 22 and 23 July.
8. There is evidence that the Council failed to act on evidence provided by Ms X in April. Whilst this delayed assessment of the claim, the claim was not suspended for such a significant period as to warrant compensation. The Council has apologised and I consider this to be a reasonable settlement of the complaint.
9. Any dispute about the amount of housing benefit paid can be appealed to a tribunal. The tribunal is an expert body and their decisions are binding on the Council. I see no reason why an appeal could not be made in this case.

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Final decision

10. I do not intend to investigate this complaint because the matter has been remedied and there is a right of appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman