Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse a discretionary housing payment application as it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has refused to make a discretionary housing payment (DHP) to him to help him with his rent shortfall. Mr X says this has impacted on his mental health and caused him to have significant financial struggles.

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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 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 (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council considered Mr X’s application for a DHP, including his personal circumstances, but refused his claim, stating that it considered Mr X’s rent charge was significantly high in relation to his maximum Universal Credit housing cost award. It went on to explain that the DHP scheme’s purpose is to provide short term help to customers who are experiencing financial hardship, and not intended as a long-term solution for an unsustainable tenancy.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether a complainant disagrees with the decision made. I have considered how the Council made its decision and I can see no indication of possible fault in this, and as such, we will not therefore investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council decided not to make a DHP payment to him.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman