Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on Miss X’s priority for social housing. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision on her daughter, Miss Y’s, application for social housing. Mrs X said it failed to consider her own medical conditions. Mrs X was also unhappy with the Council’s handling of her complaint

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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 and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss Y and her child live with Mrs X and her family. Miss Y applied to join the Council’s housing register. Mrs X asked for a review of the priority awarded to Miss Y’s application. She submitted evidence of her own health conditions and difficulties to be considered in her daughter’s application.
7. The Council completed a review and maintained its original decision. It responded with a detailed explanation of how it arrived at the decision and the relevant policies and legislation it considered.
8. Our role is not to ask whether an organisation could have done things better, or whether we agree or disagree with what it did. Instead, we look at whether there was fault in how it made its decisions. If there was no fault in how it did so, we cannot ask whether it should have made a particular decision or say it should have reached a different outcome.
9. Based on the evidence I have seen the Council followed relevant legislation and its own policies to determine Miss Y’s housing priority banding. Because she is not the applicant, the Council did not need to consider Mrs X’s health. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
10. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are not investigating the substantive issue.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss Y and Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman