Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mrs X’s application for grant assisted energy improvement work under a government scheme. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about other applicants on a Green Energy grant scheme receiving more than one element of works identified in their homes. She says she was identified as requiring solar panels as well as underfloor insulation but only received funding for one element.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X applied for grant work under a scheme operated by the Council. The Green Homes Grant Scheme is largely funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Council had a fixed budget to spend and each applicant who was eligible for the scheme had their home assessed for the type of works which would be most beneficial.
6. Mrs X’s home was identified as being one which would benefit from underfloor insulation and solar panels. However, she was only approved for the underfloor insulation. Mrs X says she knows other applicants who were eligible for more than one element of works and that she has been treated unfairly.
7. The Council has discretion to decide how to allocate the fixed budget for the grant scheme. It was the grants were based on a case by case basis and some properties were more suitable than others for particular works. Only 13 properties in this tranche of funding out of over 200 received more than one element and the Council says there are 500 applicants remaining for the scheme which is oversubscribed.
8. When considering complaints, we may not question the merits of the decision the Council has made or offer any opinion on whether or not we agree with the judgment of the Councils’ officers or members when there is no fault. This means we will not intervene in disagreements about the merits of decisions.

9. The Council’s award of the grant funding was on a discretionary basis and the majority of the successful applicants received similar works to Mrs X. The Council had discretion to consider more appropriate works if cases warranted it. Many applicants received no works due to the finite budget available.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mrs X’s application for grant assisted energy improvement work under a government scheme. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman