Summary: The Council acted with fault when it refused to consider Ms X’s request for relief from a Council Tax debt accrued by her abusive ex-partner. The Council was also at fault for failing to make reasonable adjustments for Ms X’s disability. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a decision on Ms X’s request, make payments to her, and act to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained, with support from Ms Y, about the Council’s handling of her request for discretionary relief from Council Tax.
2. As a result, Ms X remains liable for a debt which her abusive ex-partner accrued without her knowledge. She experienced further avoidable distress because of the Council’s failure to make reasonable adjustments for her disability.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information provided by Ms Y and the Council along with relevant law and guidance.
6. I referred to the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
7. Ms X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council Tax – Discretionary Relief

8. Council Tax Support (CTS) is a way of reducing a council tax bill for those on a low income. All councils which collect council tax must have a CTS scheme.
9. In exceptional circumstances, councils can effectively write off some or all of a council tax debt by using their discretionary powers under S13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended). In this decision, I will refer to this as s13A relief.
10. A council’s decision to grant or refuse s13A relief carries a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

The Council’s policy about s13A relief

11. So far as is relevant to this complaint, the Council’s policy says to award s13A relief:
• There must be evidence of extreme hardship or personal circumstances that justify a reduction in Council Tax liability
• All eligible discounts, exemptions, and benefits must have been granted

Duty to make reasonable adjustments

12. The reasonable adjustment duty is set out in the Equality Act 2010 and applies to any body which carries out a public function. It aims to make sure that a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to get to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.
13. Service providers are under a positive and proactive duty to take steps to remove or prevent obstacles to accessing their service. If the adjustments are reasonable, they must make them.
14. The duty is ‘anticipatory’. This means service providers cannot wait until a disabled person wants to use their services, but must think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need.

What happened

15. In July 2022, Ms Y emailed the Council on Ms X’s behalf to ask for s13A relief for a Council Tax debt. The request:
• Asked the Council to halt enforcement of the debt while it considered the request
• Explained that Ms X left an abusive relationship with support from the police and no longer lived in the property
• Said that Ms X’s abusive ex-partner was financially controlling. Their joint benefit claim was paid directly to him. Ms X believed he was paying their bills.
• Told the Council Ms X has a learning disability which makes reading and writing difficult for her. Ms Y asked that all correspondence come to her as well as Ms X for this reason.
16. The Council responded to Ms Y. It said that under its policy, it would only consider s13A relief if Ms X had applied for all the relevant benefits, discounts and exemptions. It said Ms X needed to apply for backdated Council Tax Support (CTS) and an Exceptional Hardship Payment (EHP) first.
17. In mid-August, the Council agreed to hold enforcement action for one month. It said it would tell the bailiffs that Ms X was vulnerable.
18. Ms Y made backdated CTS and EHP applications on Ms X’s behalf. In both applications, Ms Y said Ms X’s disability made reading and writing difficult for her and asked for correspondence to come to Ms Y.
19. Ms Y sent follow up emails to the Council in September when she did not get a response.
20. In early October, the Council wrote to Ms Y. It said it had written to Ms X in late August to ask for some information about her CTS application. When it did not get a response, it wrote to Ms X in late September to tell her it had closed her claim as ineligible. The Council explained that to be considered for an EHP, Ms X would have to be receiving CTS.
21. Ms Y then complained to the Council. She pointed out that the Council had closed the claims because, despite her request, it had written directly to Ms X.
22. In response to the complaint, the Council:
• Accepted it should not have written to Ms X. It apologised for this “oversight”
• Explained that because Ms X had joint liability for Council Tax with her ex-partner, the claim for CTS would have to be a joint claim from both of them.
• Said it would therefore need to know not only Ms X’s reasons for not claiming CTS sooner, but her ex-partner’s reasons too
23. In late October, the Council wrote to Ms Y to explain it was reconsidering its decision not to award CTS. It highlighted that the Council would only consider the s13A request after it completed the CTS decision. Ms Y complained that she did not want the Council to reconsider its decision about CTS. She wanted it to make a decision about s13A relief so Ms X could use her right to appeal to the Tribunal.
24. In November, in response to a further complaint from Ms Y, the Council once again said it would halt enforcement of the debt.

My findings

25. It is not fault for the Council to have a policy setting out how it will deal with requests for s13A relief. However, the Council should not adopt a blanket approach or policy that prevents it from considering the circumstances of a particular case. The Ombudsman may criticise councils that ‘fetter their discretion’ in ways that law and guidance does not require.
26. In this case, I find the Council wrongly fettered its discretion when it said it could not consider Ms X’s request for s13A relief unless she first applied for CTS. This was fault. As a result, Ms X has not received a decision from the Council and so her right to appeal to the Tribunal. This is an injustice to Ms X.
27. The Council’s failure to tell Ms Y from the outset that Ms X’s CTS claim would need be a joint claim was also fault. Ms X clearly could not apply for CTS because she would need information from her ex-partner. On the advice of the police, Ms X had no contact with him. He posed a risk to her. Ms X went to avoidable time and trouble completing a CTS application which had no prospect of success. This is an injustice to Ms X.
28. The Council has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities. Asking the Council to write to Ms Y instead of Ms X was a request for a reasonable adjustment. The Council should not have written to Ms X about her CTS application. Doing so was fault. This led to avoidable delay in progressing Ms X’s case and caused her significant and avoidable distress.

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Agreed action

29. To remedy the injustice to Ms X from the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Ms X
• Make a decision on Ms X’s request for s13A relief from Council Tax
• Pay Ms X £250 in recognition of her avoidable distress and time and trouble
• Pay Ms X £300 in recognition of the distress caused by the Council’s failure to make reasonable adjustments.
30. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision. The remedy payments should be paid to Ms X and must not be used to reduce any outstanding debt to the Council, unless Ms X requests this.
31. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Review and amend its policy on requests for s13A discretionary relief from Council Tax to ensure it allows officers to consider the circumstances of an individual case and exercise discretion.
• Remind relevant staff of the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Provide training or guidance as necessary.
32. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within three months of my final decision.

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Final decision

33. I have completed my investigation. The Council was at fault. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman