Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal of a disabled facilities grant. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s refusal of a disabled facilities grant to provide a bedroom and bathroom for her son, Mr Y, who has significant disabilities. Ms X wants Mr Y to be able to continue to live with the family and does not want to move home because this would be disruptive for him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

What happened

7. Mrs X asked the Council for a disabled facilities grant (DFG) to provide a bedroom and bathroom for her adult son, Mr Y, who lives with the family and who has significant disabilities so cannot live independently. Mr Y shares a room with his sister, which has been partitioned to give each of them some privacy.
8. An occupational therapist (OT) visited with a contractor to assess Mr Y’s needs. The OT agreed Mr Y needed his own room and the contractor agreed the proposed works were feasible. The Council’s panel considered the application in July 2023 and decided this was not appropriate for a DFG. It said an additional bedroom was needed, regardless of any disability needs and this was therefore a housing needs issue.
9. Mrs X appealed the decision in May 2024. She explained Mr Y could not live independently, that he would struggle to cope with a move and that they needed to stay in their current area to access support.
10. The Council responded in June 2024. It said the original decision was in line with the law and its own policies. It said it would contact Mrs X’s housing provider to discuss potential rehousing close to where they currently live. It said if that was not possible, it would explore other options with Mrs X. Mrs X remained unhappy and the Council issued further responses in September and October 2024. Its decision remained the same, but it provided further explanation in October 2024 and apologised for not doing so earlier.

My assessment

11. We usually expect people to complain to us within 12 months of the event complained about. Mrs X complained to us in October 2024 about a decision made in July 2023, so the complaint is late. Mrs X told the Council when she appealed that her delay in doing so was because of her own health issues and she has consistently pursued the matter since then. Therefore, we could exercise discretion to investigate the matter.
12. That said, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify further investigation. Section 23 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 sets out the purposes for which a DFG may be awarded. This is all about access to facilities, such bedroom or bathroom or cooking facilities. There is no evidence Mr Y cannot access his current bedroom or bathroom safely or that his occupation is affecting the safety of other family members. Therefore, the Council was not at fault for saying the criteria for a DFG was not met. There is no dispute the family need an extra bedroom, which is a housing need, and can be addressed in other ways, such as through an application to the Council’s housing register or by asking the current housing provider for a transfer.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman