Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (25 001 989)
Category : Other Categories > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the handling of her Jobseeker’s Allowance claim because it lies outside our jurisdiction. This is because the complaint is not about an administrative function of the Council. The Council is not responsible for the issues raised as it is about decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about the handling of her Jobseeker’s Allowance claim and decisions made on her claim.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X complained to the Council about matters relating to the handling of her Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claim.
- The Council explained to Ms X that it could not consider her complaint via its complaints procedure. This is because the complaint relates to decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and not the Council. It advised Ms X her complaint should be made to the DWP and provided her with signposting information there as well as to her local Councillors and Citizen’s Advice should she require any support in making her complaint to the DWP.
- Ms X has already submitted her complaint to the DWP.
- We cannot consider Ms X’s complaint because it lies outside our jurisdiction. This is because the Council is not responsible for the issues raised in the complaint. It relates to decisions made by the DWP rather than an administrative function of the Council. We cannot consider decisions made by the DWP as it is not a body in our jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint because the Council is not the body responsible for the matter she is complaining about. It is not about an administrative function of the Council and so we cannot consider it.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman