Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council considered evidence relating to her housing register application. Most of the complaint is late as it relates to evidence Mrs X provided more than 12 months ago. The Council made a new decision in 2023. Mrs X had the right to ask for a review of the decision and it was reasonable for her to have done so. The Council has offered a suitable remedy for the delay in making its decision in 2023.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained she had been sending evidence to the Council about her children’s disabilities since 2020, but the Council did not consider whether this meant she was eligible for higher priority on its housing register until November 2023. She said had also failed to respond to her emails.
2. Mrs X also complained the Council did not properly consider the medical evidence she provided when it decided not to award higher priority.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal; or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council considered medical evidence she provided between 2020 and 2022. This is because she did not complain to us until December 2023, so this part of her complaint is late. It was reasonable for her to have complained sooner.
9. Mrs X contacted the Council again in March 2023. She provided further medical evidence and said an occupational therapist (OT) had carried out an assessment of her property. The Council asked Mrs X to provide a copy of the OT report. After further emails, Mrs X told the Council in early July that she did not have a copy of the OT report. The Council obtained it from the NHS later that month.
10. Mrs X complained in September that the Council had not made a decision. The Council accepted it had failed to contact her and said it expected to send its decision in October. It did not do so, and Mrs X complained again. The Council issued its decision on 24 November. It decided band B was still appropriate. It told Mrs X she could ask for a review of its decision. It was reasonable for Mrs X to ask for a review of the decision if she disagreed with it.
11. In its complaint response on 29 November, the Council accepted it had taken longer than it should have done to make its decision, for which it apologised. It offered to pay her £50 to remedy the inconvenience caused by its delay. Mrs X did not accept the offer. However, I consider this was an appropriate remedy in the circumstances. Therefore, we will not investigate the complaint further.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she had the right to ask for a review of the Council’s decision, and it was reasonable for her to do so. The Council has made an appropriate offer to remedy the delay in making the decision. We will not investigate the period before December 2022 because that part of the complaint is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman