Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of housing grants for Ms X’s property. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, says the Council should refund her for the recent work she has paid to repair her property which should have been covered by housing grants following her application for assistance at the end of 2020.

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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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X, including the Council’s response to her complaint.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
7. I gave Ms X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and considered what she said.

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My assessment

8. At the end of 2020, Ms X applied to the Council for a grant to facilitate repairs to her property. As the repairs required were extensive and would likely go beyond the amount the Council could pay, it said it would pursue a national Government Greener Homes Grant to assist.
9. Unfortunately, due to the events as set out in the Council’s response to Ms X’s complaint, the Greener Homes Grant could not be obtained. However, the Council explained it could only now rely on Decent Homes funds towards her essential repairs and it invited her to make contact to arrange a further visit to progress matters.
10. The Council says it did not hear from Ms X and it closed her case in 2021. Following her complaint about these matters the following year, it advised Ms X in February 2022 that the offer to make a new Decent Homes grant application still stood. It repeated this offer in October 2022.
11. This was an option open to Ms X and a way to progress matters before deciding what repairs she would need to pay for herself. It is unfortunate that the original plan could not proceed with the Greener Homes Grant. The Council explained why this was the case and offered to arrange for Ms X to complete a new application. I have seen no evidence to suggest fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation
12. Moreover, the restriction highlighted in paragraph 4 applies to the earlier events dating back to 2020 as we would reasonably have expected Ms X to have made a complaint to us sooner.
13. In responding to the draft decision, Ms X says she applied for a Greener Homes Grant which could have been used for both external and internal insulation and that it was the Council who decided on external insulation only and that to install it the entire roof of her chalet would need to be removed and rebuilt. However, in responding to Ms X’s complaint in February 2022, the Council explained that she had not been awarded a Greener Homes Grant but that it had said it would pursue the possibility of one. It further explained that Company A was the Provider for the Greener Homes Grant and that it was this company, and not the Council, that had decided external works would be appropriate but only with a new roof. The Council’s says a qualified surveyor from Company A had made the assessment and recommendation and that it did not consider it appropriate to challenge the decision.
14. An investigation by the Ombudsman now cannot lead to the issuing of a Greener Homes Grant to Ms X. She says she needs further funds to complete the work to her home she has started and it is open to her to contact the Council to see what help is currently available.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman