Summary: The Council was at fault for delay dealing with Ms X’s application for council tax support. The Council was also at fault for failing to write to Ms X in large print despite two previous complaints to the Ombudsman. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Ms X, and act to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained that the Council failed to process her application for council tax support in April 2023 and failed to communicate with her about it in large print.
2. As a result, Ms X was unable to make a council tax support application and experienced avoidable distress, frustration and time and trouble.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the complaint and the information Ms X provided.
6. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
7. I referred to the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
8. Ms X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Council tax support

9. Council tax support (CTS) helps people on low income, or with no income, to pay their Council Tax bills.
10. Anyone who is liable to pay council tax for a property they live in as their home can make a claim for CTS. All claims are means tested based on household income.  
11. A claimant for CTS can ask the Council to review its decision if they disagree. The Council should send a written response within two months. The claimant then has two months to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.

Reasonable adjustments

12. The reasonable adjustment duty is set out in the Equality Act 2010 and applies to any body which carries out a public function. It aims to make sure that a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to get to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.
13. Service providers are under a positive and proactive duty to take steps to remove or prevent obstacles to accessing their service. If the adjustments are reasonable, they must make them.
14. The duty is ‘anticipatory’. This means service providers cannot wait until a disabled person wants to use their services, but must think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need.

What happened

15. Ms X is Disabled. She needs written communication to be in large print. The Ombudsman has made two previous findings of fault against the Council for failing to write to Ms X in large print (ref 21006085 and ref 22012376).
16. In April 2023, Ms X applied for council tax support over the telephone. In her application, she reminded the Council that she needed communication in large print. She then wrote to the Council with proof of address and national insurance.
17. The Council wrote to Ms X, on a matter related to an application for discretionary relief from council tax. That letter said the Council was processing Ms X’s application for CTS.
18. In June, Ms X wrote to the Council to ask for an update. She also provided further evidence of her income.
19. In July, the Council wrote to Ms X. It said it could find no record that she had applied for CTS and invited her to apply online. Ms X returned this letter to the Council as unread because it was not in large print. Ms X complained to the Council that it had failed to deal with her application for CTS and had again written to her in small print.
20. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint in August. It did not uphold the complaint. It said Ms X had not previously told the Council she needed large print communication. It said it had not located any claim form and invited her to apply online for CTS. This letter was in large print.
21. In October, the Council found Ms X’s claim form from April and added it to her account. Ms X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two.
22. The Council responded to the complaint at the end of October. It upheld the complaint. However, the Council said it needed more information from Ms X to be able to assess the claim. It asked her to provide this information by a date in early November.
23. Ms X returned this letter to the Council. She said she had provided all the information required and the Council should make a decision. The Council wrote to Ms X again in mid-November. It said it was treating her application as defective. It said she had one month to appeal this decision. Ms X returned this letter to the Council unread as it was not in large print.

My findings

CTS application

24. The Council accepts it lost Ms X’s April application. This was fault. This delayed the Council considering Ms X’s application until October, a delay of six months. This caused Ms X avoidable distress and uncertainty, which is an injustice.
25. In that time, the Council told Ms X it was processing her application. This meant Ms X had no reason to know the Council had lost her application. The Council should not have told Ms X it was processing the CTS application if it was not. This was fault. It caused Ms X avoidable confusion and frustration, which is an injustice.
26. In response to my enquiries, the Council provided evidence that Ms X would not have qualified for CTS based on the information she provided. I do not, therefore, find that Ms X missed out on benefit she was entitled to. However, the Council’s fault meant it took much longer than it should have to make a decision. Such a decision carries a right of review and then appeal to the Tribunal. The Council delayed Ms X’s access to her statutory rights. This is an injustice to Ms X.

Reasonable adjustments

27. Despite two upheld complaints to the Ombudsman, the Council continued to write to Ms X in small print she could not read. This was fault.
28. This included the Council’s decision that Ms X’s CTS application was defective. Since this letter was not in a font she could read, she could not use her right of appeal. This is an injustice to Ms X.
29. In its complaint response, the Council wrongly said Ms X had not told the Council she needed large print documents. This was clearly inaccurate. It caused Ms X avoidable distress and undermined her confidence in the complaint process.
30. The repeated failure to make reasonable adjustments caused Ms X significant and avoidable distress. She had to go to the time and effort of returning letters she could not read and complaining again about something the Council should have resolved three years ago. The recommended remedy reflects the recurring fault over this time, which aggravates the injustice.

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Agreed action

31. To remedy the injustice to Ms X from the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Ms X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology
• Write to Ms X in large print with a decision on her application for council tax support setting out her review and appeal rights.
• Pay Ms X £250 in recognition of the significant and avoidable distress and frustration caused by the delay dealing with her application for council tax support.
• Pay Ms X £750 in recognition of the significant, avoidable, and aggravated distress caused by the continued failure to make agreed reasonable adjustments when writing to Ms X.
32. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
33. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Provide training or guidance to all staff dealing with council tax and benefits on how to identify when a claimant has an agreed reasonable adjustment, such as large print, and how to meet this in every communication.
• Remind staff dealing with complaints to ensure any reasonable adjustments agreed by a service or department are carried through into the complaint process.
34. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within eight weeks of my final decision.

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Final decision

35. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman