Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to close the complainant’s application for a Discretionary Housing Payment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, says he is facing severe hardship because the Council mis-managed his application for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP). He says there have been lies and a cover-up. Mr X wants the Council to reconsider its position, accept responsibility and offer compensation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 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))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and an email the Council sent asking for information. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr X lives in a shared ownership property. He applied for a DHP. A DHP is a discretionary payment which, in some circumstances, can help someone pay their rent.
5. The Council spoke to Mr X to explain why it needed some information and it sent an email listing what he needed to send. This included, for example, proof of identity and income, and confirmation of shared ownership. The Council closed the application in June because Mr X had not submitted enough information to allow it to assess the application. The Council told me today that Mr X has still not provided the information.
6. The Council accepted that in its initial decision it wrongly said Mr X was ineligible for a DHP when it should have said it did not have enough information to make a decision on eligibility. But, it then re-opened the case and, as explained above, listed what documents Mr X needed to supply. The Council said there was no evidence of discrimination.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The DHP guidance manual says the applicant must provide any information a council needs to make a decision. I have seen the documents the Council asked for and the request was entirely relevant to the application. There is no suggestion of fault in the Council’s decision to close the case because Mr X did not provide enough information. There is nothing to suggest the Council discriminated against Mr X or acted with malice.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman