Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his homeless application. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to consider the late complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of his homeless application. He says the Council wrongly assessed him as not being in priority need and failed to provide him with the support he was entitled to.

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Mr X complaint is about matters that happened in 2010. Therefore, this happened more than 12 months ago.
6. The Council confirmed Mr X’s complaint was previously investigated by its predecessor Council. The Council also wrote to Mr X in 2023 to confirm it would not reinvestigate his complaint.
7. Mr X has not provided any reasons for why he did not bring his complaint to us earlier. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint as it is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider the late complaint.
8. Mr X also complains the Council will not respond to his emails/complaints and says the matter is ongoing. We will not investigate a complaint purely about a council’s handing of a complaint as we are not investigating the substantive matter.
9. If Mr X is unhappy with how the Council has dealt with his homeless application within the last 12 months, then he needs to first complain to the Council. I have not seen any evidence he has done this. Once Mr X receives the Council’s final complaint response, he can bring the complaint back to us to consider.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons to consider the late complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman