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

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complained about the Council’s assessment of their housing application. They believe that the Council failed to give sufficient priority to their medical circumstances and that they should be given Band A priority rather than Band B which they have been awarded.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s review responses. 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. Mr and Mrs X say that the Council did not properly assess their housing needs related to their medical circumstances. They say that they provided medical evidence that they need to move because they cannot cope with stairs in their current home.
6. The Council’s independent medical assessor recommended that the application should be banded Band B which is for an urgent move on medical grounds. The Council told them that they do not meet the threshold for Band A which is reserved for medical emergencies only and is reviewed every 6 months when awarded.
7. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether someone disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
8. I have considered the Council’s housing allocations policy and there is no evidence to suggest that the application was treated differently to any other applicant in these circumstances. We 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

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a 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