Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the calculation of the complainant’s special guardianship allowance. There is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council’s part, and our intervention would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council was at fault in the recalculation of her special guardianship allowance and in its notification of the change.

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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 impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X has care of a child under a special guardianship order and was receiving discretionary means-tested special guardianship allowance from the Council, She complains that, following reassessment, the Council has stopped paying the allowance. She says it has unreasonably taken into account dividends from shares which she intended to use to address the child’s needs. She further complains that the Council failed to give her proper notice of the change.
6. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. The Council has set out why it regards share dividends as capital, and there is no indication of fault in the way in which it has done so. It has accepted that it failed to give Miss X proper notification of the change to her allowance and has agreed to pay her for the notice period. Investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve any more, and is not therefore warranted.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault, and investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman