Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her application for support under its an Emergency Support Scheme. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of her application for support under its Emergency Support Scheme (ESS). In that its policy is unclear, and she incurred costs buying appliances following the rejection of her application which the Council later overturned. Also, she is unhappy with the way the Council handled her complaint about this.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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))
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. Although Miss X made the application for ESS over 12 months ago, I have decided to use my discretion to consider this matter. Miss X was using the Council’s complaints process and there were delays from the Council in responding to Miss X’s complaint about this matter. It would not be fair therefore to exclude Miss X’s complaint on this basis.
8. Miss X applied for support in April 2023 which the Council rejected in the same month. After an appeal, the Council overturned the decision based on new evidence provided in May 2023.
9. In published information about the ESS, the Council does not provide timescales as to when it will consider and application or appeal. Despite this, I note the Council considered both the application and resulting appeal within two weeks of receiving them. Given these short timescales and as the Council overturned its original decision, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
10. The Council has explained its reason for not reimbursing the appliances bought by Miss X is because its policy is to provide goods and vouchers directly rather than give cash. There is not enough evidence of fault in its decision making to justify an investigation.
11. As I am not investigating the complaint about the ESS application, I will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling. This is because it is not a proportionate use of public money to investigate this alone.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman