The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not placed the complainant in band A on the housing register. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, says the Council should place her in Band A on the housing register.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the correspondence about Mrs X’s housing application and the allocation policy. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X is in band B on the housing register. She lives in a bedsit with two children under the age of five. Mrs X says the property is too small for her family’s needs.
Mrs X applied to join the housing register. The Council accepted the application because Mrs X is living in overcrowded conditions and needs a two bedroom property. The Council placed Mrs X in band B because she lacks two bedrooms.
Mrs X appealed and said she should be in band A. The Council confirmed band B is correct.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The policy says that people who lack two bedrooms qualify for band B. I have considered the qualifying conditions for band A and none of them apply to Mrs X. The Council’s decision to award band B reflects the policy so there is no reason to start an investigation.
I appreciate Mrs X needs a larger home but we do not act as an appeal body and we cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with. We have no power to tell the Council to move Mrs X to band A.
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