Nottingham City Council (24 013 649)
Category : Benefits and tax > Housing benefit and council tax benefit
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the recovery of housing benefit overpayment. This is because the complainant has used their right of appeal to a tribunal. We have no power to investigate.
The complaint
- Ms X complained the Council has sought to recover a housing benefit overpayment dating from 2019-2023.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 applied for housing benefit in 2014. Applicants are informed that they are not eligible to receive the benefit if they have more than £16,000 in capital or savings. It is the applicant’s responsibility to notify the Council of any changes to their financial situation.
- A review of Ms X’s entitlement in 2023 found that between 2014 and 2019 Ms X had accrued savings of more than £16,000. Ms X had not told the Council about this. It therefore decided Ms X had been overpaid housing benefit between 2019-2023, and the overpayments were recoverable from Ms X.
- Ms X appealed unsuccessfully to the Social Entitlement Chamber. Because Ms X has used her right of appeal to the Tribunal we have no power to investigate the complaint and no discretion in the matter.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman