Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to end its main housing duty and its handling of the matter. This is because it would have been reasonable for Miss X to use her appeal rights to a court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s decision to end its main housing duty after she refused its offer of accommodation. She says this accommodation was unsuitable for her family’s needs.
2. Miss X is also unhappy with the Council’s communication on the matter; she says she received incorrect advice regarding bidding for properties and delayed responses.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. The Council completed a review of its original decision to end its main housing duty. It considered the accommodation offered suitable for Miss X’s family size, within reasonable travel distances and affordable.
9. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for her to use her appeal rights to the county court at the time if she was dissatisfied with the Council’s review. It is the appropriate body to review such matters.
10. And it would not be a good use of public money to investigate any complaints about the Council’s communication on the matter when I will not investigate the substantive matter of this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for her to appeal to the county court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman