Summary: there was fault in the way the Council considered Miss X’s request for a medical assessment and a review of her priority on the Housing Register. She has recently been offered a property. But she did not get a decision on her request for medical priority and is left with the uncertainty of not knowing whether she might have been awarded higher priority on medical grounds. The Council has agreed to provide a personal remedy for Miss X and to make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained that the Council failed to properly consider her request for a medical assessment and a review of her priority band on the Housing Register.
2. Miss X lives in overcrowded conditions which have an adverse impact on her mental health and wellbeing.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
5. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
6. 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

7. I have spoken to Miss X and considered the evidence she sent us.
8. I considered the Council’s response to my enquiries and relevant housing records.
9. I read the relevant parts of the Council’s housing allocations policy and the information published on its choice based lettings website for housing applicants.
10. Miss X and the council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Housing allocations - the published scheme
 

11. 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)).
12. The term “procedure” covers all aspects of the administration of the allocation process, including the persons or descriptions of persons who make the decisions.
13. The Council has a duty to have an allocations scheme and to allocate in line with the scheme. If a Housing Association is a partner in the allocations scheme, that does not change this duty. If the Housing Association is involved in assessing priority or making review decisions, it is acting on behalf of the Council when it carries out these administrative functions.
14. In January 2016 we issued a Focus Report “Full House: Councils’ role in allocating social housing”. We noted that many councils operate their housing allocations scheme in partnership with other councils or Housing Associations. Sometimes these partner organisations manage some of the functions in the allocations scheme. In these circumstances we said the housing association is acting as the agent of the council.
15. This principle is confirmed in section 166(3) of the Housing Act which says:

“Every application made to a local housing authority for an allocation of housing accommodation shall (if made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the authority’s allocation scheme) be considered by the authority.”

Reasonable preference

16. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:
• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;
  (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))
   

Decisions and review rights

The Council must notify the applicant of the right to request a review of decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9)). Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.

The Council’s housing allocations policy

17. The policy explains the procedure for carrying out medical assessments for Housing Register applicants.
18. It says if an applicant has a medical need, they must complete an online form. The Council’s Medical Adviser will then consider the form together with any evidence the applicant provides. The Medical Adviser may decide to request evidence from medical or other professionals. The assessment normally takes up to six weeks.
19. There are three levels of medical priority: Emergency (Band 1), High (Band 2) or Medium (Band 3). The criteria for each band are set out in the policy.
20. The policy does not explain different arrangements apply for assessing medical priority for Housing Association tenants. In these cases, the applicant’s Housing Association landlord carries out the medical assessment after seeking advice from their own Medical Adviser.
21. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme for allocating social housing called Find your Home. The Find your Home website includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). One FAQ informs existing Housing Association tenants who are on the Housing Register to report any change of circumstances, including the need for a medical assessment, by logging on to their account and completing the relevant form. It says this assessment will be done by their Housing Association not the Council.

What happened

The background

22. Miss X is a Housing Association tenant who lives with her young child in a one bedroom flat.
23. Miss X joined the Council’s Housing Register in 2019. She was awarded priority for overcrowding because she needs a two bedroom property. At first, her application was placed in Band 3. This later changed to Band 4 when the Council introduced a new housing allocations policy.
24. In mid-June 2023 the Housing Register appeals team told Miss X that her Housing Association landlord dealt with appeals and she should contact them.
25. On 30 June 2023 Miss X completed an online form to request a medical assessment. She gave details of her mental health condition, the medication and treatment she received and the impact of living in overcrowded conditions. She also uploaded a letter of support from her GP who asked for an urgent review of Miss X’s priority. He said the overcrowded conditions at home were having an adverse impact on her mental health and affecting her ability to parent her child.
26. Miss X heard nothing more about the medical assessment.
27. In early October 2023, in response to further contact from Miss X, an officer in the Housing Register team sent an email to the Housing Association. She pointed out that Miss X had completed a change of circumstances form in June, including the medical needs section, and uploaded supporting medical evidence. She said this required a medical assessment and asked the Housing Association to forward it to their medical advisor.
28. In early November 2023 the same Council officer sent a further email to the Housing Association. She asked it to confirm it had sent Miss X’s request to the medical adviser and when it expected to have the outcome.
29. The Council has not provided any evidence that the Housing Association replied to either of these emails.
30. In response to my enquiries, the Council said the Housing Association is not carrying out the medical assessment function on behalf of the Council.  It says the Housing Association is responsible for assessing applications made by their own tenants. So any complaint about delay should be made directly to them.
31. The Council told me Miss X has now been matched to a two bedroom property which she bid for on Find My Home. It is therefore unlikely that the Housing Association will complete the medical assessment.
32. The Council expressed the view that, based on the information Miss X gave on the medical form, it is unlikely any recommendation would have been made about her need for a specific type of property. So the property offered to Miss X would meet her needs.  It said she already has priority for overcrowding and the impact of overcrowding was the main issue highlighted in the medical evidence.

My analysis

33. Miss X requested a medical assessment in late June 2023. Despite the Council sending two reminders to the Housing Association, the assessment was not done and Miss X did not get a decision. The failure to complete the assessment is fault.
34. The Council argued it is not responsible for this delay. It says its partner, the Housing Association, assesses applications made by its tenants. The Council is entitled to outsource assessments in this way. But it is wrong to claim it is not responsible for the Housing Association’s actions. When a council operates an allocations scheme in partnership with housing associations, it remains responsible for the actions, or omissions, of those organisations when they carry out allocation functions (including medical assessments or reviews). So the Council was at fault because it is responsible for the actions of its agent, the Housing Association.
35. The injustice to Miss X is the uncertainty about whether she may have benefited from higher priority if the medical assessment had been completed. Understandably she feels let down by the Council. It kept referring her to the Housing Association when the Council is responsible for the management of the allocations scheme. As she is now under offer for a property of her choice, there is nothing to be gained by completing the medical assessment now. But Miss X deserves an apology and a payment to recognise the distress caused.
36. On a broader point, the Council’s housing allocations scheme does not explain it operates different procedures for assessing applications made by existing Housing Association tenants. As stated in paragraph 11 of this statement, the scheme must explain the procedures and who makes the decisions. The absence of this information in the published allocations scheme is fault. Although there is a statement in the FAQ on the Find Your Home website, that is not sufficient because the law says the procedures must be set out in the published housing allocations policy.
37. From the information I have seen, it is not clear whether the delayed medical assessment was an isolated occurrence or whether other Housing Association applicants may have experienced similar delays. I have made a recommendation to address this.
38. The Council was also at fault for refusing to investigate Miss X’s complaint about the delayed medical assessment. It is responsible for the allocations scheme so it should have investigated her complaint rather than redirecting her to the Housing Association.

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Agreed action

39. Within one month of my final decision, the Council will:
• Arrange for a senior manager to apologise to Miss X following the guidance set out in paragraph 5;
• Pay Miss X £400 to recognise the significant distress caused;
• Share the final decision statement with officers in the Housing Register and corporate complaints teams to ensure they understand the Council is responsible for the actions of partner organisations in the allocations scheme and should consider complaints about their actions.
40. Within three months of my final decision, the Council should:
• Review and amend its housing allocations scheme so it clearly explains the different procedures for assessing applications made by Housing Association tenants and for considering their review requests;
• Arrange for a senior manager responsible for the Housing Register team to meet a manager from the Housing Association to review their current performance in carrying out medical assessments and find out whether there is a wider issue with delays or blockages in the process. If there is a systemic problem, they should agree an action plan to address this.
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

42. I have completed the investigation and found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice to Miss X.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman