Norwich City Council (23 018 391)

Category : Housing > Homelessness

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 27 Mar 2024

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s implementation of government guidance for rough sleepers during severe weather. There is insufficient evidence of any significant personal injustice which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

  1. Miss X complained about the Council’s response to severe weather alerts in its role to provides shelter for rough sleepers in her area. She says her voluntary organisation is aware of a case where the Council did not contact a rough sleeper and she also says the Council staff did not treat her organisation with respect.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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, or
  • any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
  • any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s responses.
  2. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

  1. Miss X says the Council did not contact all the rough sleepers whom her organisation has contact with during an expected spell of severe weather. She says she has knowledge of one individual who was not contacted by the Council. She says this was a failure to consider the government’s severe weather emergency protocol guidance for rough sleepers in cold weather.
  2. The Council says the applicant was contacted and a bed was made available, Miss X disputes this and says the Council’s staff failed to treat staff at the organisation with respect.
  3. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter or where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising something of general concern but where they have not suffered injustice personally.
  4. This complaint does not involve personal injustice to the complainant. Any individual who has been personally affected by the Council’s implementation of government guidance or the homelessness legislation can make a complaint to us directly explaining how they have suffered injustice as a result.

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Final decision

  1. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s implementation of government guidance for rough sleepers during severe weather. There is insufficient evidence of any significant personal injustice which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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