London Borough of Brent (24 017 777)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled his request for a housing suitability review. The Council has agreed to a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about how the Council responded to his request for a housing suitability review.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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).
- 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).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- If we investigated this complaint it is likely we would find the Council at fault. It delayed in completing a suitability review, failed to issue a final suitability review decision to Mr X and did not inform him of his right of appeal.
- We asked the Council to consider resolving the complaint early by taking action to remedy the injustice caused to Mr X. We suggested the Council write to Mr X to apologise, issue the decision letter and inform Mr X of his appeal rights. We also suggested a payment of £100 to recognise the distress in the form of frustration caused to Mr X.
Agreed Action
- To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint by taking the suggested actions within one month.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman