Summary: A disabled homeowner complained the Council had wrongly refused his requests for financial assistance to fund insulation works and other repairs to his property. But the Ombudsman does not have reason to investigate this matter because there is no sign of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr B, complained that the Council had unreasonably turned down his requests for a grant and other financial help to fund insulation works and repairs to his property. Mr B felt the Council had wrongly assessed his eligibility for assistance. He also felt the Council was discriminating against him in this respect, particularly as it was funding external wall insulation at other properties in the area. In addition Mr B queried if the Council was following Government policy on energy efficiency schemes.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Mr B provided about his complaint and his comments when we spoke on the telephone. I also considered his comments in response to a draft of this decision. In addition I took account of the Council’s response to my enquiries in Mr B’s case and information about its housing grants and financial assistance policies.

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What I found

4. The Council offers several discretionary grant schemes to assist homeowners needing repairs or improvements to their property, each with its own eligibility criteria.
5. In particular the Council offers Warm and Safer Homes (WASH) grants of up to £10,000 for essential repairs that reduce identified hazards in the home, which can include lack of insulation. Eligibility for a WASH grant depends on the homeowner receiving certain welfare benefits.
6. The Council can also offer Home Safety Grants of up to £500 for minor works or adaptations to the home if there is a disabled person in the household, and Gas Safety funding for boiler servicing.
7. In addition the Council currently participates in a scheme (‘LA-Flex’) in partnership with the energy company EON, which provides free insulation and other measures to improve energy efficiency for eligible households. The scheme is funded by EON under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which the Government introduced to require energy suppliers to help the poorest households cut their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.
8. Councils participating in LA-Flex must produce a Statement of Intent setting out the criteria they will use to identify households meeting the eligibility requirements for assistance. Councils have flexibility on the particular criteria they use to identify qualifying households as long as they meet the general categories of having a low income and high costs or vulnerability to cold. There is no requirement for Statements of Intent to specify the kind of energy efficiency measures which will be funded
9. Mr B owns a semi-detached house. He is disabled and suffers from a medical condition which requires him to keep the house fully heated. But Mr B said the house needs external cladding to improve insulation, the windows are draughty, there is no felt under the roof tiles, and the soffits, facias and guttering need to be replaced or fixed to stop water entering the property.
10. Late in 2017 Mr B approached the Council for financial assistance to do works to his house. The Council inspected the property to see if Mr B qualified for a WASH grant. But it decided Mr B was not eligible for a Grant as there were no qualifying category 1 hazards at the property and, in any case, his income was above the threshold for assistance.
11. Subsequently Mr B found out about the LA-Flex scheme so he enquired again to the Council. But the Council said Mr B did not qualify for the scheme as it does not include external wall insulation.
12. However the Council did arrange for Mr B’s boiler to be serviced for free on two occasions using Gas Safety funding.
13. Mr B complained to the Ombudsman because he believed the Council had wrongly assessed his financial eligibility for grant funding. He also felt the Council was discriminating against him and, in this respect, he pointed to external wall insulation works he knew it was carrying out at other properties in the area.

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Analysis

14. But I have reached the view that we do not have reason to investigate matters in Mr B’s case because there is no sign of fault by the Council.
15. In particular I considered the different eligibility criteria for WASH grants and for assistance under the LA-Flex scheme. But it seems to me the Council is correct in saying Mr B does not qualify under either scheme.
16. As regards a WASH grant it seems there are no qualifying works needed at Mr B’s property (i.e. there are no category 1 hazards) and, in any case, his household income is above the threshold for assistance.
17. I also understand Mr B is not entitled to help under the LA-Flex scheme, despite qualifying under the income criterion, because the external wall insulation works he is asking for are normally not covered under the scheme. In this respect the Council said it has agreed with EON that the scheme will focus on loft and cavity wall insulation, first time gas central heating systems and boiler repairs. The Council says this is made clear in the information about LA-Flex on its website.
18. I do not see sign of fault in the Council’s approach regarding these matters. In particular I do not see that the legislation and guidance on ECO and LA-Flex specify the particular kind of energy efficiency measures councils and energy companies must offer. So there seems no requirement on the Council and EON to include external wall insulation in their scheme.
19. I also consider that the Council’s consideration of Mr B’s eligibility for LA-Flex is in line with its Statement of Intent and its Housing Financial Assistance Policy.
20. The Council has confirmed it is funding external wall insulation works to its own housing stock. But this funding would not be available in Mr B’s case as he is a private homeowner.
21. The Council also said that over the past year it has provided grants to contribute towards external wall insulation for some privately-owned terraced properties in the Borough with solid walls. The Council said this was a one-off project, and it focussed on terraced houses as these are more likely to have category 1 hazards due to excess cold. But Mr B did not meet the criteria for this scheme as he lives in a semi-detached property.
22. I consider the Council is entitled to have separate polices on external wall insulation for different types of property, particularly regarding its social housing properties which are funded in another way. I do see that the existence of other Council insulation schemes necessarily means Mr B should be entitled to similar assistance, and I am not convinced there is evidence to suggest he is being discriminated against in this respect.
23. I also note that the Council has confirmed that Mr B would qualify for a Home Safety Grant for works to the facia and guttering at his property, although he would have to fund the cost of any works over £500.

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Final decision

24. The Ombudsman does not have reason to investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council had wrongly refused his request for financial assistance to fund external wall insulation and other works at his property. This is because there is no sign of fault in the way the Council has dealt with matters in Mr B’s case.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman