Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s administrative fault in relation to a refusal of housing benefit. This is because there is no significant injustice separable to the decision that is subject to a Tribunal appeal.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s administrative fault and gatekeeping in relation to a decision to refuse Mr Y housing benefit.

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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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. 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)
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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. The substantive issue is the Council’s decision to refuse housing benefit which we cannot investigate as it is subject to a Tribunal appeal.
10. The Council’s decision making process and its handling of the matter is too closely related to the appeal for us to consider without risking overlap with the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
11. Further, there is no separable significant injustice beyond that arising from the housing benefit refusal, which the Tribunal is considering, that would justify an investigation by us.
12. The Information Commissioner is the more appropriate body to deal with complaints about data handling.
13. And it is not a proportionate use of our resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issue.
14. I note the Council’s final response said it would not engage in further communication on the same matter. If the Council imposed formal contact restrictions beyond this, a complaint about such was premature at the time Mrs X contacted us. Mrs X will need to complete the Council’s complaints process and can then raise a new complaint to us if unhappy with the outcome. This is the same for other new or ongoing matters referred.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman