Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council wrongly advised the complainant to claim Universal Credit. This is because it is a late complaint and there were appeal rights the complainant could have used. We also cannot investigate the Department for Work and Pensions.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council wrongly advised her to claim Universal Credit (UC). She says UC does not work for her and claiming it has made her ill and caused financial problems.

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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. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. 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)
6. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I considered a letter the Council sent to Mrs X in 2018 signposting her to us. I also considered comments Mrs X made in reply to a draft of this decision.

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What I found

Universal Credit

8. The government has gradually been introducing UC. People who live in a UC area, and need to make a new claim for help with their rent, must claim UC rather than housing benefit.

What happened

9. The Council became a UC area in 2015. Mrs X was receiving housing benefit. The Council closed her claim in February 2017 because she did not provide some information. The Council notified her of her appeal rights.
10. Mrs X claimed UC from March 2017. She also complained to the Council. In December 2018 the Council told Mrs X that it had previously explained why her housing benefit had ended and that she had been given appeal rights. The Council signposted Mrs X to us in December 2018.
11. Mrs X complained to the Council again in 2020. The Council repeated that she could not claim housing benefit because her previous claim ended after the Council become a UC area in 2015. This meant she would need to make a new claim and new claims for help with rent have to made through UC, not housing benefit.
12. Mrs X complained to us in January 2021. She says she did provide the information the Council asked for in 2017 and the DWP wrongly told her to claim UC. She also says she tried to appeal and could not complain to us earlier due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.

Assessment

13. I will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint. Mrs X’s housing benefit ended in February 2017 and she started to receive UC in March 2017. The Council signposted her to us in December 2018 but Mrs X did not complain to us until 2021. I have not seen any good reason to accept a late complaint especially as the difficulties created by the pandemic did not start until 2020.
14. I also will not start an investigation because Mrs X could have appealed to the tribunal in 2017 if she disagreed with the Council’s decision to end her housing benefit. It is reasonable to expect her to appeal because the tribunal is the appropriate body to consider disputes about housing benefit decisions. It is now too late for Mrs X to appeal to the tribunal and the only way she can get help with her rent is through UC. In addition, if the Council did not process a request for an appeal in 2017 then Mrs X could have complained to us in 2017.
15. Finally, I cannot investigate the complaint that the DWP wrongly advised Mrs X to claim UC because the DWP is not part of the Council. Mrs X could complain to the DWP.

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Final decision

16. I will not start an investigation because this is a late complaint and Mrs X could have appealed to the tribunal. In addition, I cannot investigate the DWP.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman