Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council failing to ask her for relevant information which she considers would have affected her welfare benefit claims. This is because the actions complained about are not the administrative function of a council.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council failed to ask her for relevant information and that this affected her welfare benefit claims.

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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. We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Ms X complains the Council failed to ask her for information which she considers would have been relevant to her welfare benefit claims. She is also unhappy that her employment and support allowance claim was ended in 2015.
7. We cannot investigate this complaint as the Council is not responsible for administering the welfare benefits Ms X complains about, nor is it responsible for making decisions about what welfare benefits she would have been entitled to. Therefore, the Council would not have had any responsibility for asking her for information to help inform these claims.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the actions complained about are not the administrative function of a council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman