The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant is not eligible for the £150 energy rebate. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, disagrees with the Council’s decision that she is ineligible for the £150 energy rebate. She wants the Council to award the rebate. She also complains the Council has not considered her request for discretionary support.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and government guidance. I also considered our Assessment Code and comments Ms X made in reply to a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The Government produced guidance regarding eligibility for the £150 energy rebate. Councils must follow this guidance. The rules say that to be eligible the person must be liable to pay council tax for a band A to D property on 1 April 2022. Eligibility is determined by the position at the end of the day on 1 April 2022. This reflects council tax legislation which says liability is determined by the position at the end of the day.
The Council also provides discretionary support. There is no application process as the Council identifies qualifying people from council tax records. Discretionary support is available to people who were liable for council tax on 1 April and fall into the following groups: care leavers; fostering or shared lives families; people in band E to H who received council tax reduction on 1 April; and households receiving the council tax disability reduction.
Ms X moved into her home on 12 May. She says her moved was delayed. Prior to that she was last previously liable for council tax in January. Ms X applied for the £150 energy rebate. The Council declined the application because Ms X was not liable for council tax, in the Bexley area, on 1 April 2022. The Council said Ms X may be able to apply to another council if she was liable to pay council tax for a different property on 1 April.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council explained the eligibility rules and that it is following government guidance. Eligibility for the rebate is dependent on a person being liable for council tax on 1 April 2022. Ms X did not move into her property until 12 May so was not resident and liable for council tax on 1 April. I can understand why Ms X feels aggrieved but there is nothing to suggest fault in the way the Council has applied the rebate rules.
Ms X says the Council did not consider her for discretionary help. There was no application process as the Council automatically identified qualifying households. Ms X did not qualify as she was not liable for council tax on 1 April and is not in one of the groups who qualify for discretionary support. Again, there is no suggestion of fault by the Council.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman