Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed sending medical assessment forms and delayed completing the assessment. The process that should have been completed within one month took a year causing uncertainty and anxiety. A symbolic payment is agreed to acknowledge this.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council delayed sending medical assessment forms and delayed completing the assessment.
2. She says this affected her ability to bid on suitable properties.

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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 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)
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(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Choice based lettings

7. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises.
8. 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.
9. The Ombudsman recognises that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas. The Ombudsman may not find fault with a council for failing to re-house someone, if it has prioritised applicants and allocated properties according to its published lettings scheme policy.

Key facts

10. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.

11. Ms X is an applicant on the Council’s housing register. She is able to place bids on available properties. However, to date her bids have not been successful. Ms X considers her circumstances mean she should get higher priority and so contacted the Council and requested a medical assessment form.
12. Ms X contacted the Council in January 2025 to request a medical assessment form. She contacted the Council again in April and was told the form would be sent within 10 days. Ms X called again when the form was not received.
13. Ms X says that during this telephone call the officer she spoke to was rude and unhelpful. As a result, Ms X submitted a formal complaint.
14. The Council responded on 20 May upholding her complaint. It said the officer had been spoken to and offered further training. It said the housing register team had been asked to get the medical form to Ms X and to ensure it was fast tracked. The Council sent Ms X the requested medical form on 27 May. Ms X completed the form on 17 June.
15. Ms X escalated her complaint to stage two of the complaints procedure on 24 June. The Council response focussed on the call handling elements but noted it had been explained to Ms X there were delays and backlogs in respect of medical forms and assessments. It said Ms X comments about the time taken had been passed to the housing register team.
16. The Council visited Ms X at home in July. Following this the Council’s medical assessor reviewed the documents provided by Ms X and reached a decision on 15 August. A medical need award was made with recommendations regarding the lifts and floor level that were suitable. It included information that Ms X could be considered for a property with particular internal characteristics such as a ramp or slope, internal stairs with little prospect of adapting for a stair lift and more than four steps to enter the property. The senior medical adviser email the housing register officer with the outcome on 21 August. However, the Council did not notify Ms X of the outcome until 21 January 2026.

Analysis

17. In response to my enquiries the Council says that it would normally expect a medical assessment to be carried out within a month of it receiving the medical documents. In this case it took the Council over 19 weeks to send the forms, nine weeks to complete the assessment and a further 22 weeks to notify Ms X of the outcome. In total it took over a year to complete the process. This delay is fault.
18. As there is fault I have to consider what injustice this caused to Ms X. The medical assessment while acknowledging Ms X had medical needs, did not result in her priority changing. I am satisfied that she did not miss out on any suitable properties as a result of the delay in this case. Ms X’s priority band and effective date remained the same after the medical assessment was completed and so any bids she placed during the period of delay were not affected.
19. However, the Council did uphold a complaint regarding the way the officer spoke to her on the telephone. Also the year’s delay in waiting for a decision caused Ms X distress and uncertainty and so I consider the Council should make a symbolic payment to recognise this.

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Action

20. To remedy the injustice caused to Ms X as a result of the fault identified in this case the Council will, within one month of my final decision, take the following action:
• Apologise to Ms X for the fault identified. 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;
• Make a symbolic payment of £150 to recognise the anxiety and uncertainty resulting from the delay in this case; and
• Provide details of any actions already taken or proposed to ensure medical assessments are completed without delay.
21. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

22. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman