Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s assessment of her housing band. She says the Council has not properly considered her medical needs and the medical needs of her three children. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council’s assessment of Mrs X’s housing application band.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s assessment of her housing band. The Council has placed her in housing Band B. She says the Council has not properly considered her medical needs and the medical needs of her three children. Mrs X also says the Council previously placed her in Band A but then moved her down to Band B.
2. Ms A represents Mrs X.

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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. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’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

6. I spoke with Ms A and considered the information she provided.
7. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information it provided.
8. I sent a draft decision to Ms A and the Council for their comments.

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What I found

The Council’s Housing Allocation Policy (September 2015)

9. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
10. Paragraph 8.5 of the policy notes that applicants can apply for an extra bedroom due to their medical or social needs.
11. Section 14 of the policy outlines the housing bands. The Council can award Band A, the highest priority, to:

• Applicants who need to move urgently because of a critical medical or welfare need, including emergencies.
• Applicants who have two or more needs in Band B.

12. The Council can award Band B to:

• Applicants who need to move because they have been assessed as having a serious medical or welfare need.

13. The Council can award Band C to:

• Council tenants who are overcrowded because they have one bedroom less than the number of bedrooms to which they would normally be entitled under the Council’s allocations policy.

14. Paragraph 15.2.2 notes that if applicants need an extra room for medical reasons, they will instead be assessed for medical or welfare priority.
15. Paragraphs 15.3.1 and 15.3.2 deals with children sharing bedrooms. It notes children of the same gender will share a bedroom (up to the age of 25) unless there is a medical, behavioural or social reason why they cannot share. Where children are of different genders, they will require their own bedroom when the oldest child is age ten or over.
16. Paragraph 15.21.4 to 15.21.7 of the policy highlights how the Council awards medical priority. It notes the Council will assess the extent to which the applicant’s health is affected by their housing conditions and the expected benefits of providing suitable alternative housing.
17. Paragraph 15.21.9 lists some examples of when the Council may assess an applicant as having a critical medical housing need. These include:

• The applicant’s condition is life threatening and the current accommodation is a major contributory factor.
• The applicant’s health is so severely affected by their current housing that it is likely to become life threatening.
• The applicant’s medical condition is expected to become terminal within 12 months and rehousing is needed for the provision of suitable care.
• The applicant is in hospital or residential care and is unable to return to their former home because this would severely worsen their medical condition and/or their mobility is severely restricted, and the property cannot be adapted to provide level access.

What happened

18. Mrs X applied to join the Council’s housing register in June 2016. She lives with her three children, F and G (females) and H (male). Her children are over the age of ten and all have medical needs. They live in a two-bedroom council property.
19. The Council said it assessed Mrs X’s request for an extra bedroom in October 2016. The Council accepted F needed her own bedroom for medical reasons and decided the family needed to move due to serious medical needs. The Council awarded Mrs X’s application Band B in December 2016.
20. In March 2017, the Council awarded Mrs X’s application Band A. The Council said this was a mistake as it had recorded wrong information. The Council changed Mrs X’s priority back to Band B September 2017.
21. In November 2017, the Council again awarded Mrs X’s Band A priority. The Council said this was another mistake and was again due to the fact it had recorded wrong information. The Council changed the award back to Band B in February 2018.
22. The Council completed a review of its decision in August 2018. It confirmed the award of Band B was correct as it was in line with the Council’s housing policy. The Council said Mrs X’s household did not meet the criteria for Band A as it did not feel the household had a critical medical need. The Council considered all the medical information related to Mrs X and her children.
23. The Council reviewed its decision again in March 2019, following a request from Mrs X. The Council accepted fault for the two incorrect awards of Band A. The Council said the correct banding for Mrs X’s application was Band B. The Council said it considered the health assessment form and medical records.

Analysis

24. The policy is clear the Council will award Band A to applicants who need to move because of a critical medical need.
25. It is for the Council to decide whether Mrs X’s household has a critical medical need. I cannot decide this. Instead, my role is to consider whether the Council made its decision properly by considering all relevant information.
26. In this case, Mrs X gave the Council medical information about herself and her three children. The Council reviewed this information before it made its decision about Mrs X’s application banding. Therefore, the Council has made its decision properly because it considered all relevant information. As the Council has made its decision properly, I cannot find fault with the decision itself.
27. I have also looked at whether the Council considered awarding Mrs X’s application Band A under another criteria. This is because Band A priority can also be awarded where an applicant has two or more needs in Band B.
28. Mrs X’s bedroom entitlement under the Council’s policy is three bedrooms. As she lives in a two-bedroom property, she is overcrowded by one bedroom. However, the Council assessed F as needing her own bedroom. This would suggest Mrs X is instead overcrowded by two bedrooms and would therefore be eligible for Band B priority for overcrowding.
29. However, the policy makes it clear the Council will assess applicants for medical priority instead if they need an extra room for medical reasons. This means that while the Council has agreed Mrs X needs an extra bedroom, it does not count towards the bedroom entitlement that is used to work out the level overcrowding. This means Mrs X is in Band C priority for overcrowding.
30. As the evidence shows Mrs X does not have two needs in Band B, there is no fault with how the Council has considered Mrs X’s housing application band.

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Final decision

31. I find no fault with the Council’s consideration of Mrs X’s housing application band. I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman