Slough Borough Council (25 030 655)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about housing benefit because the matter has been appealed to a tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council unreasonably refused his housing benefit claim.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X made a claim for housing benefit which was refused. He appealed to a first tier tribunal.
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint because he appealed to a tribunal.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he appealed to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman