The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision that he is not homeless or threatened with homelessness. This is because it was reasonable for him to ask the Council for a review.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s decision that he is not homeless or threatened with homelessness. He says he was treated like an animal and suffered for over a year with no support.
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 or continue an investigation if we decide it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) The County Court deals with appeals about homelessness decisions.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X.
I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council’s decision gave Mr X a right of review under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Mr X asked the Council to review its decision. The Ombudsman is not a substitute for this statutory review process. It was reasonable for Mr X to use his right of review if he disagreed with the Council’s decision. If he was unsuccessful on review then he also would have had a right of appeal to the County Court on a point of law.
As it was reasonable for Mr X to ask the Council to review its decision, I will not investigate his complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it was reasonable for him to ask the Council for a review.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman