Summary: Miss X says the Council did not deal with her housing properly. The Council accepts it is at fault. Miss X suffered avoidable distress and uncertainty. The Council has offered an appropriate remedy.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complains the Council did not deal with her housing properly because it inaccurately recorded her housing needs.
2. Miss X says she missed out on appropriate housing offers.

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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. 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

5. I considered documents Miss X provided. I considered the Council’s response to Miss X’s complaint and the supporting documents it provided.
6. Miss X and the Council and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened?

7. Miss X was assessed by an Occupational Therapist as needing a wet room, but a level access shower could meet her needs. The Council recorded that Miss X required a wet room only.

Analysis

8. The Council accepts it is at fault. During my investigation the Council offered to apologise and pay Miss X £500. This is an appropriate remedy.

Action by the Council

9. The Council has identified necessary service improvements as a result of Miss X’s complaint, including:
• Working with housing providers to ensure they consider all information about an applicant’s needs;
• working to improve the information provided; and
• reducing delays in responding to complaints at stage 1 and 2 of the complaints handling process.

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Agreed action

10. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of this decision:
• Apologise to Miss X. 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.
• Pay Miss X £500 in respect of avoidable distress and uncertainty.
11. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

12. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Miss X. I have now completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman