Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled a Warm Home Grant application. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains on behalf of Mr Y that the Council wrongly refused a Warm Home Grant Application. He also complains about complaint handling.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr Y applied for grant works under a Warm Home Grant scheme, funded by the Department for Energy and Net Zero. The Council has discretion to decide whether homes are suitable for works and must follow legal standards.
6. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether Mr X disagrees with the decision the organisation made.
7. Based on the information I have seen, the Council has acted in line with its policy and legal duties. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.
8. Mr X has complained about how the Council handled his complaint. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman