The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to accept her application for improved banding on the housing register. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council failed to properly consider her application for the housing register. She says it failed to correctly consider her medical evidence and her living conditions. Ms X says the impact of this refusal is impacting her mental health.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy.
(Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. It has failed to evidence its rationale or decision making behind why Ms X was not eligible to join the housing register based on having a medical need to move.
We therefore invited the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by completing a further medical assessment. It should also provide a clear rationale to Ms X regarding its subsequent decision based on this assessment.
Agreed Action
To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within four weeks of the final decision.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman