Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about matters related to Miss X’s housing benefit and council tax discount. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to use her appeal rights to address the core decisions, and the ICO is best placed to consider a complaint about information handling. There is otherwise not enough evidence of fault by the Council or of it causing Miss X significant injustice, so the rest of the complaint does not warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council:
• failed to take action against her landlord
• adjusted her housing benefit claim because of a change of circumstances too early;
• failed to consider her Personal Independence Payment (PIP) when calculating her council tax;
• failed to adjust a letter it sent her to meet her needs, and has refused to tell her how much rent she needs to pay;
• pays her housing benefit in arrears;
• charged for her pendant alarm when it has not done so before; and
• failed to provide a copy of an encrypted email in which her landlord made false allegations. She also says it has failed to keep a copy of her tenancy agreement.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (1), as amended)
4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or

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

5. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or discount.
6. 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)
7. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the Miss X and the Council’s responses to her complaint.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. The Council says Miss X would like it to consider rental charges and historic water rates charged by the landlord. The Ombudsman will not investigate this part of her complaint as this is an issue between Miss X and her landlord and is not a Council function.
11. The Council has decided about Miss X’s entitlement to housing benefit and council tax reduction in line with information about her benefit income provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Council cannot anticipate changes which the DWP has not yet agreed. In any event, it would be reasonable for Miss X to use her appeal rights against relevant council decisions on both matters.
12. The Council invited Miss X to call if she does not understand any of its letters. It has also said it will include a line on the top of all letters stating how much rent she needs to pay. This is a reasonable step for the Council to take, and we could not likely achieve more by investigating.
13. By law councils pay housing benefit directly to landlords in arrears, so the Council is not at fault in doing so.
14. The Council provides a pendant alarm as an adult social care service. The law expects people to pay a contribution to the cost of services, and it will depend on their assessed income, similar to the way entitlement to housing benefit and council tax discount is calculated. Changes in Miss X’s income or benefit awards can affect the charge for social care and support. The Council is not at faut simply because it has now decided to charge. If Miss X’s entitlement to PIP continues when the DWP reviews it, it may also affect her charges for the alarm service.
15. Miss X can ask the Council to assess or review her needs for adult social care and support under the Care Act 2014 if she thinks she needs extra help. The Ombudsman cannot consider a complaint about that until she has done so, and if necessary complained to the Council about the outcome.
16. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is better placed to consider a complaint about the loss of the encrypted email and failure to keep a copy of her tenancy agreement. The ICO deals with potential data breaches and provides a free service which is easy to use, so it would be reasonable to expect Miss X to use it.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because:
1. It would be reasonable for Miss X to use her appeal rights to address housing benefit and council tax matters;
2. The ICO is best placed to consider a complaint about information handling; and
3. there is otherwise not enough evidence of fault by the Council or of it causing Miss X significant injustice, so the rest of the complaint does not warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman