Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about entitlement to a Council tax reduction because the complainant has appealed to a First Tier Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that, despite a Tribunal appeal in her favour, the Council is still denying her housing benefit and a Council tax reduction based on her savings.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The Valuation Tribunal deals with appeals against decisions on council tax liability and council tax support or reduction.
4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. Ms X successfully appealed to a Tribunal in 2024 which reinstated her entitlement to Employment Support Allowance (ESA) in 2021. The Council says that they have been told that an overpayment of ESA was sought to be recovered by the DWP for that period and so the Council decided that no payment for either housing benefit or Council tax reduction could be made to Ms X. The Council advised her of her right of appeal to a tribunal.
9. Ms X says that the tribunal had decided that the overpayment could not be recovered. Nevertheless, the tribunal is the only body that can overturn the Council’s decision; the Ombudsman cannot do this.
10. The tribunal is an independent body which can determine any dispute about such decisions. The decision has now been appealed and so the complaint is out of jurisdiction.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman