The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to backdate Council tax reduction.
The complaint
Ms X complains that the Council will not backdate her entitlement to a Council tax reduction.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X says that she applied for Council tax reduction but argues that it should have been backdated to 2022 as she received disability benefits. She appealed against the Council’s refusal to do so in May 2025.
The Ombudsman cannot investigate a complaint which has been appealed to a tribunal for the reason given above. The complaint is therefore out of jurisdiction.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she appealed to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman