Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s response to his complaint and its handling of his homelessness application. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigating the Council’s complaint response. The Council has also said it will write to Mr X in respect of his homelessness application review request.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council’s complaint response did not fully address his concerns. He also says the Council failed to signpost him to us.
2. Mr X wants the Council to properly engage with him and reassess his homelessness application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complains that the Council’s complaint response did not address all the points he raised. Mr X had asked the Council why there was a 21-day deadline to request a review of a homelessness application decision. He also asked the Council to clarify which was the correct method to submit a review request.
7. Mr X also says the Council’s did not signpost him to us.
8. I have read the Council’s complaint response and found that the Council explained the 21-day deadline is statutory, and not an internal policy. The Council also told Mr X that he can submit a review request via email or post, which Mr X did and the Council accepted his review request.
9. Furthermore, the Council explained that they will write to Mr X separately in relation to his review request.
10. The Council’s complaint response did not signpost him to us. However, I have not found enough evidence of significant fault with the Council’s overall response to warrant a full investigation by us. In any case, Mr X still came to us, even without signposting from the Council and therefore this matter has not caused him a personal injustice.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault causing an injustice to justify investigating the Council’s complaint response. The Council has also said it will respond to Mr X’s review request.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman