London Borough of Enfield (25 010 564)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has not dealt properly with her housing, causing avoidable distress. Mrs X has commenced Judicial Review proceedings in court. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint and will discontinue the investigation.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complains the Council has not dealt properly with her housing, because it has left her in unsuitable accommodation.
- Mrs X says she has suffered avoidable distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
- 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(i), as amended)
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.
What I found
What happened?
- This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
- Mrs X complained her accommodation was unsuitable because it had not been adapted. The Council completed a suitability review and decided the property was unsuitable and it had a duty to source alternative suitable accommodation.
- Mrs X started judicial review proceedings in court.
Analysis
- Since making her complaint to the Ombudsman, Mrs X has started judicial review proceedings in court. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint.
Decision
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. I have discontinued my investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman