Summary: We will not investigate this complaint. The law prevents us investigating matters where Mr X has taken court action, or the Council’s use of public money. We will not revisit complaints we have already decided. The Council should have more opportunity to consider complaints about recent events.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s actions on his housing and his social care needs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal or court action did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
4. We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to tell the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. As paragraph 3 explained, we cannot investigate a complaint where the person has taken court action on the matter. Mr X sent us documents showing he had taken court action against the Council. The court action included alleged failures to assess and meet Mr X’s social care needs, safeguard Mr X and deal with his housing problems. It also included alleged data protection breaches and discrimination.
9. The restriction in paragraph 3 stops us investigating all those matters. It does not matter whether the court action could have resolved everything, or whether it succeeded, or whether Mr X stopped his court action.
10. Mr X’s complaint includes some points he previously raised with us or closely related points:
1. We upheld a complaint from Mr X in 2019. Mr X argues the Council did not properly do what it had agreed with us to resolve that complaint. However, the Council’s actions in 2020 satisfied us. We previously told Mr X we would not revisit this complaint. That remains the case.
2. In 2021, we decided another complaint. Mr X wants us to reconsider that decision. He argues the Council kept information from us. We previously told Mr X we would not revisit that complaint either. That remains our position.
11. So even if Mr X had not taken court action, we would not investigate these points.
12. Mr X says the Council wasted public money by paying housing benefit to his landlord for a home in poor condition. However, Mr X had to pay rent. He qualified for housing benefit. So the Council’s payments did not in themselves directly and significantly disadvantage Mr X. The Council cannot use housing benefit to deal with disrepair. The use public money does not affect Mr X much more than most residents of Camden. So we cannot investigate this, as paragraph 4 explained. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to audit councils’ use of public money.
13. Mr X asked us to investigate more recent events. These include Mr X asking for interim social care support in 2024; a social care self-assessment in 2024; an application to the Council’s cost of living fund; and problems with Mr X’s rent. I have seen no evidence any complaint about these matters has completed the Council’s complaint procedure, as we would normally expect. Mr X argues we should investigate anyway. I note Mr X’s vulnerability and his concern about all the difficulties affecting him. However, it is not reasonable or proportionate for us to try to look at these points before the Council has had more chance to deal with them.
14. Mr X also complaints about a first-tier tribunal. We have no power to investigate tribunals.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The law prevents us investigating matters where Mr X has taken court action, or the Council’s use of public money. We will not revisit complaints we have already decided. The Council should have more opportunity to consider complaints about more recent events. We cannot investigate tribunals.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman