Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s assessment of her housing register priority. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s decision to award her Band B on its housing register. She says this does not reflect her family’s needs, has caused distress and is affecting her child’s mental health. She wants the Council to increase her housing priority to the highest band.

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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.

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

3. 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X applied for the Council’s housing register. The Council assessed her application and placed her in Band C. Ms X was unhappy with her priority band and asked for a review of this decision.
7. In its review decision letter, the Council increased her banding to Band B. It accepted her family had high medical and welfare needs and their housing was having a serious impact on their health and wellbeing. It set out how it had considered the criteria for Band A but decided they did not meet the threshold for this band.
8. 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 a person disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council has reviewed its decision and awarded Ms X Band B priority. It has explained how it has reached its decision based on the criteria set out in its housing allocations policy and how it decided she does not meet the criteria for Band A. There is not enough evidence of fault in how the Council has reached its decision to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman