Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s housing application as it was reasonable for Mr X to use his right to review. There is also insufficient evidence of fault regarding the Council’s handling of Mr X’s homeless application, and it is reasonable for Mr X to bring his complaint about data handling to the Information Commissioner .

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his housing and homelessness applications. He complains:
• the Council did not consider all information in his housing application and gave him the wrong banding. This impacted which properties he can bid for.
• The Council incorrectly closed his homelessness application.
• The Council lost his personal information. This impacted on his housing application assessment.
2. Mr X says these impacted the emotional and physical health of him and his family. Mr X would like the Council to reconsider his banding and homelessness application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for an organisation review or appeal.

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

4. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the Mr X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X applied to join the Council’s housing register. The Council assessed Mr X’s housing application as a Band C. Mr X says the Council should give him a higher banding as his accommodation is unsuitable for his family. The Council asked Mr X to complete medical forms and provide some additional evidence so it could review his banding. Mr X did not provide the forms. We will not investigate this matter as it is reasonable for Mr X to use his right to review.
8. Mr X also completed a homelessness application. The Council provided forms for Mr X to complete to support his application. Mr X did not complete these forms and the Council closed his homelessness application as it was unable to proceed with the application without the requested information. We will not investigate this matter as there is insufficient evidence of fault. It is open to Mr X to provide the Council with the completed forms to allow it to process his homelessness application.
9. Mr X says he provided information to the Council and the Council lost this information. We will not investigate this matter as the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's data protection regulator and is best placed to determine if the Council has breached the law in this regard.
10. In the meantime, it is reasonable for Mr X to resubmit the information to support his housing register and homeless applications.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s housing application as it is reasonable for Mr X to use his right to review. In addition, there is insufficient evidence of fault regarding the Council’s handling of Mr X’s homeless application, and it is reasonable for Mr X to bring his complaint about data handling to the ICO.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman