Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to approve the complainant as a host under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council will not give more time to allow all members of his household to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Mr X wants the Council to allow more time for the checks.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 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

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The government guidance says sponsors, and all adults in their household, must satisfy eligibility checks before they can be approved as a host under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The eligibility checks include everyone passing a DBS check. The guidance says councils can decide not to approval an application if it is not satisfied with the outcome of the checks.
5. Mr X applied to be a sponsor in 2022. The Council did not approve his application because he did not fully complete the application process.
6. Mr X re-applied in 2024. The Council has not approved the application because there are adult members of his household who have not completed all the eligibility, ID and DBS checks. The Council says it chased for responses and allowed extra time. The Council has notified the immigration services that Mr X has not passed the checks.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The guidance says a council can decide not to approve an application if the applicant does not meet the eligibility checks. In this case, despite being given extra time, not everyone in Mr X’s household has provided the required information, so the Council has been unable to approve Mr X as a sponsor. There is nothing to suggest fault in the way the Council made this decision because the decision reflects the guidance. We are not an appeal body and we cannot intervene simply because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman