Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s refusal to award her any medical priority based on information which she says is different to that used for its previous assessment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response. I have also considered the Council’s housing allocations policy.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X asked the Council to carry out a medical assessment of her housing application in December 2024 and completed a medical assessment form. The Council wrote to her and told her that the information on the assessment form contained no new information which would affect her priority. The Council said the form contained similar medical information to the evidence provided for an earlier medical assessment which was decided in July 2024.
6. Miss X says she has difficulty managing stairs in her current home when the lifts sometimes are inoperative. This was considered in a previous review by the Council following her previous complaint to us in 2023 case ref. 23011714.
7. The Council does not have to carry out a medical review if no significant change of circumstances has taken place since the last assessment. The previous assessment decision was only 5 months previous to the latest one. I can see nothing which indicates that Miss X’s housing application has not been given reasonable consideration assessment under the Council’s policy. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council’s assessment of a housing application/ a housing applicant’s priority if it has carried this out in line with its published allocations scheme. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman