Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s assessment of her housing application. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has not dealt with her urgent medical need for accommodation. She says it has ignored the impact on her health.
2. Ms X would like the Council to award her higher priority and offer her accommodation directly.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information from Ms X which includes the Council’s comments.

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What I found

6. Ms X is on the Council’s housing waiting list as she is overcrowded. She is living in a one-bedroom property with her young child. She also suffers medical issues that make the sharing of the bedroom difficult for her.
7. Ms X complains about the Council not awarding her any medical priority to her housing application to bump up her up the waiting list. (The Council told her in May that she was number 86 in line for a two-bedroom first floor flat).
8. The Council has admitted some fault in not responding to Ms X’s request for a review of its medical advisor decision in March 2023.
9. In April, after receiving Ms X’s complaint, the Council arranged to review her medical evidence from the hospital and her GP. But it confirmed the original decision that she was not entitled to medical priority. So, it cannot award her higher priority or offer accommodation directly as that would not be in line with its Housing Allocations Policy.
10. The Council’s allocation scheme says an applicant will be placed in band three if they are overcrowded by one bedroom. This is the situation Ms X finds herself in. I understand Ms X is disappointed with the decision. But, based on the information available, it is unlikely we would find fault in the way the Council reached its decision.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision not to award medical priority.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman