Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain about delay in completing home insulation works which the Council agreed to fund through an energy efficiency grant. We have found service failure by the Council resulting in three months delay to the works being completed. This caused an injustice to Mr and Mrs X in the form of distress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment and service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complain about delay in completing home insulation works which the Council agreed to fund through an energy efficiency grant.
2. Mr and Mrs X say the impact of ongoing works have had a profound impact on their day to day lives.

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What I have not investigated

3. In their complaint to the Ombudsman, Mr and Mrs X complained about dirt and rubbish left on site and poor workmanship. In response to my enquiries the Council confirmed that it had not received complaints from Mr and Mrs X about these issues. I agree with the Council’s comments here. The crux of the complaints to the Council have been about miscommunication and delay in completion of the works. I have therefore not investigated these issues.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered the information provided by Mr and Mrs X and discussed the complaint with them. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its response.
8. Mr and Mrs X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered all comments before I reached a final decision.

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What I found

9. The Government’s Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme was launched in July 2020. It offered a grant intended to support low-income households to increase energy efficiency of low energy performance homes and thereby reduce the costs of energy bills.

Owner occupier contract

10. The Council has provided a copy of the contract for the Energy Efficiency Improvement (EEI) Scheme. The contract is between the Council and the owner of the property.
11. The contract states the Council will:

• employ a contractor to carry out the works as described in the schedule;
• use reasonable endeavours to ensure the contractor carries out the work in a workmanlike manner and that they are adequately insured in respect of the works; and
• cause the contractor to make good any faults due to defective materials or workmanship which become apparent and are reported to the Council within six months of the date of completion of the works as certified by the Council.

12. The contract states the owner will be responsible for reporting in writing to the Council, all defects within six months of the completion of works.
13. The contract is explained in person during the sign-up process.

What happened

14. There has been a great deal of correspondence between Mr and Mrs X and the Council about this complaint. This chronology covers the issues of complaint that I am investigating and does not detail everything that happened.
15. In February 2021 the Council secured funding for the Government’s LAD scheme for works to over 1200 properties. The Council procured Contractor 1 as the principal company for works to be carried out under the scheme. Contractor 1 had several sub companies working for them.
16. Mr and Mrs X applied for the EEI scheme and their application for external wall insulation was approved by the Council.
17. On 27 October, the Council received an enquiry from Mr X’s MP. The MP said Mr X was concerned about delays with the EEI scheme. Officer 1 contacted Mr X and said work would commence on his property the following week. Officer 1 said he wanted to explain the contract agreement, but Mr X refused to speak to him.
18. On 2 November, Mr X signed the contract agreement for the EEI scheme.
19. On 11 November, scaffolding was erected on Mr X’s property.
20. On 9 December, the Council asked Contractor 1 to complete the works on the road (Road A) where Mr and Mrs X lived, as soon as possible. The Contractor said it was having issues with hacking the existing stone and therefore the scaffolding would not be removed before Christmas.
21. On 13 January 2022, Contractor 1 told the Council that work to the front of properties was “progressing and almost complete”. It said its biggest issue was lack of labour which it was looking to increase.
22. On 27 January, Contractor 1 informed the Council that Mr and Mrs X’s property required rendering to the extension only as the main elevation was a cavity wall.
23. On 3 February, the Council received an enquiry from Mr X’s MP. Mr X was concerned about the lack of communication and said the work being undertaken was not what was promised.
24. On the same day, two officers (Officers 2 and 3) from the Council visited Mr and Mrs X at their home. Mr and Mrs X raised several concerns which I have summarised below:

• they had to contact their MP to get the work started;
• once the work started the Council said it would be completed by Christmas 2021;
• a surveyor had never been to their property to look at it properly;
• they received no formal information about the work to be completed, how it would be carried out, implications of the work and responsibility for any issues; and
• they had signed an expression of interest form but not a contract for the work.

25. The Officers asked Mr and Mrs X if they were happy with the insulation completed to the front of the property. Mr and Mrs X said they were happy with the standard of work and how it looked. Mr X said his complaint was about the lack of information and contact and delays in completing the work. The Officers said they understood the insulation would be on the rear elevation only and not the offshoot extension. Mr X expressed his dissatisfaction.
26. On 8 February, the Council sent an email to its staff reminding them Mr X had a single point of contact. The Council explained this was implemented in November 2019 due to the number and frequency of complaints it had received from Mr X. The Council had received approximately 265 telephone calls/complaints since this date, a number of which the Council said related to this complaint but did not inlcude some direct calls to officers.
27. On 10 February, Contractor 1 told the Council that properties on Road A would have a stone finish to the front and gable, with a brick finish to the rear with external wall insulation to solid walls and uninsulated brick finish render to cavity walls. It said scaffolding to the rear of the properties would be erected the week commencing 21 February. Officer 1 asked whether the work could start sooner but the Contractor explained they were scaffolding another road first.
28. On 14 February, the Council responded to Mr X’s MP and confirmed it was carrying out an investigation including any breakdown in communication between all parties. The investigation would also look at Mr X’s expectations as to the works which were to be completed to his property as part of the project.
29. On 16 February, Officer 1 sent a letter to Mr and Mrs X and confirmed the outstanding work to their property as follows:

• pointing of stone effect render to front elevation;
• shrouding of electrical cables to the rear of the property;
• removal of scaffolding from front elevation and erection on the rear elevation;
• insulation boarding to rear solid wall elevations;
• cavity wall insulation to main double skimmed rear elevation if required (external dining room and rear bedroom walls); and
• application of brick effect render to rear elevation.

30. Officer 1 explained the external wall of Mr and Mrs X’s dining room and rear bedroom was cavity construction and required a cavity insulation treatment before a brick render finish could be applied. He said, the cavity would be checked prior to insulation to ensure it was clear and could be filled. Officer 1 said all outstanding work should be fully completed by April 2022, subject to favourable weather conditions and the electricity provider shrouding cables on schedule.
31. During February, Mr X left five voicemail messages for Officer 3. He said he was fed up with the lack of action and lies.
32. On 18 March, Contractor 2 confirmed that shrouding at Mr X’s property had been completed and work on rear elevations was scheduled for week commencing 11 April.
33. On 14 April, the Council sent Mr X a letter stating:

• he had signed a contract for the works on 2 November 2021;
• Contractors 1 and 2 completed pre work external asbestos and external wall construction surveys which did not require access inside properties;
• the first floor of the property was likely to be a cavity wall, however a further survey would be carried out to confirm this;
• the rear extension was a solid wall and would receive external wall insulation;
• preliminary plumbing would begin on 20 April and scaffolding was scheduled to commence on week commencing 25 April; and
• installation of new guttering, first stage boarding/insulation, base render coats and final finishing render coats would be carried out until 30 April.

34. On 10 May, the Council received further correspondence from Mr X’s MP. The MP said Mr X was concerned about problems with the EEI Scheme and had raised the following concerns:

• the Council agreed to undertake the work without a survey and the only agreement signed being an expression of interests’ form;
• the Council had not explained the process before arranging the work, and without this information, informed consent for the works to proceed could not have been provided; and
• scaffolding was erected for over six months however no work was undertaken during the first three months.

35. On 13 May, Officer 1 left the Council and Officer 5 took over as project manager.
36. On 19 May, Contractor 1 informed the Council the cavity wall at Mr X’s property was still outstanding.
37. On 21 June, Contractor 1 confirmed rendering to front of all properties had been completed. Three weeks later it was confirmed the first render coat to rear elevations had been completed.
38. On 22 July, the Council received a formal complaint from Mr and Mrs X. They said:

• workmen arrived with no materials and said they would return the next day and had still not arrived. Mr X said he was reluctant to leave his home in case they arrived unannounced;
• work did start when the scaffolding was erected but then ceased and nothing was done for months;
• Council officers arrived unannounced at his home in February;
• the Council told their MP the front elevations would be completed by Christmas 2021, but work was still ongoing;
• scaffolding was still erected despite the Council stating work would be completed by April 2022;
• there had been a lack written communication; misinformation and conflicting information by the Council;
• surveyors had not attended their property;
• the Council did not provide an official contract and Mr X did not sign a contract before the scaffolding was erected on the front elevation;
• Mr X could not use his garden, causing him stress and anxiety; and
• Mr X was registered blind and was bumping into the scaffolding.

39. On 28 July, Contractor 1 told the Council that works be completed by 2 September.
40. On 16 August, Contractor 1 said works should be completed within three weeks.
41. On 5 September, Officer 3 carried out an external site visit and confirmed that scaffolding at Mr X’s property had been removed. He took photographs of Mr X’s property and said the work had been finished to a very high standard.
42. On 23 September, the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. It said one of the contractors had staffing issues and therefore the job was taken over by another contractor. Further delays were encountered due to lack of insulation materials required to complete the work. Mr X remained dissatisfied.
43. On 27 September, Contractor 1 confirmed all works had been completed.
44. On 27 October, the Council’s records showed that whilst all works had been completed the cables were still shrouded. The Council contacted the electricity provider.
45. On 14 November, the Council wrote to Mr X and apologised for the delay in responding to his stage two complaint. It agreed to respond by 19 December.
46. On 19 December, the Council responded to Mr X’s stage two complaint and explained it was ‘administrators’ of the funding but had not carried out the installation works. It said Contractor 1 was responsible for offering advice and support to residents throughout the completion of the works. The Council acknowledged the works had taken much longer than anticipated and explained the reasons for the delay, including, residents agreeing to the works being undertaken, design issues, disagreements over the proposed works relating to wall finishes and issues with sourcing of materials. The Council explained this had been a complex installation to progress. The Council apologised to Mr X but disputed the delays meant that he could not leave his property or continue with his daily activities.
47. In early February 2023, the Council contacted Contractor 1 and the electricity provider about shrouding at Mr X’s property. The electricity provider confirmed the shrouding would be removed the following week.
48. On 13 February Contractor 1 went into administration. A week later Mr X informed the Council that all shrouding had been removed.

Analysis

49. The central issue of the complaint relates to lack of communication and clarity from the Council about the schedule of works agreed and delay in the work being completed.
50. The insulation works have been funded by way of a grant provided from the Government to the Council. The Council has explained its role as contract administrator with specific duties under the agreement. In particular, the Council said it was responsible for appointing a contractor to carry out the EEI scheme works. Further, it would reasonably supervise the works and ensure these had been carried out in a professional manner. This was specified in the contract signed by Mr X in November 2021.
51. The Council has provided a copy of the schedule of works for the LAD scheme but there is nothing that shows the schedule of works agreed for Mr and Mrs X’s property. There is no evidence of this information being shared with Mr and Mrs X before the works began. Therefore, they did not know what works had been agreed and how they would be carried out. The Council told Mr and Mrs X that Contractor 1 was responsible for sharing this information. However, the Council confirmed the works agreed by letter following the home visit and then again in its complaint correspondence. Therefore, I find no reason why the Council could not have shared this information with Mr and Mrs X sooner and failure to do so was fault. This caused Mr and Mrs X an injustice in the form of distress and uncertainty.
52. It is the Ombudsman’s view that because the Council employed the Contractor it remains responsible for any delays. The contract does not specify any timescales for completion of the works however in response to my enquiries the Council said in comparison to previous schemes it was expected the work would have taken six months to complete. Therefore, I have accepted this as the baseline for completion of the works at Mr and Mrs X’s property.
53. Scaffolding was erected at the property in early November 2021, but works did not commence until January 2022. Scaffolding was removed at the end of August and a month later Contractor 1 confirmed that all works at the property had been completed. Therefore, the works were completed within eleven months. This is a delay of five months. However, not all these delays were due to Council fault.
54. I have reviewed the records of the fortnightly meetings between the Council and the Contractor during the insulation works at the property. I find the Council was proactive in managing the project and specifically asked the Contractor to complete the work at Mr and Mrs X’s property sooner. The time taken to undertake the works was affected by a number of factors outside the Council’s control including:
• the COVID-19 pandemic which caused staff shortages and problems with acquisition of materials;
• cold weather conditions which meant the render and tint could not be applied to the elevations; and
• unforeseen difficulties such as insulation to the cavity wall.
55. Whilst these factors were outside the Council’s control, I do not consider they added more than one month to the overall delay in completing the insulation works. Therefore, taking these factors into account I find the works have been delayed by three months. I consider this to be a service failure by the Council. Furthermore, I find the Council raised Mr and Mrs X’s expectations by stating the works would be completed firstly in April 2022 and then 2 September 2022.
56. Mr and Mrs X explained the difficulties they endured having to cope with the delay and the fact certain areas of their home were inaccessible for longer because of the delay. Mr X also told me the situation had caused Mrs X significant distress and had impacted on her health. While I cannot comment on the impact on Mrs X’s health, I am satisfied the delay caused Mr and Mrs X an injustice in the form of distress, frustration and uncertainty.
57. The records also show that the contractors erected scaffolding at the property in November 2021 but did not start work until January 2022. I acknowledge that this would have been frustrating and inconvenient for Mr and Mrs X, especially over the Christmas period, but I find no fault by the Council here. The Council intervened in December 2021 and February 2022 asking the Contractor to start the work on Mr and Mrs X’s property sooner, but the Contractor explained this was not possible.
58. Mr X also complained that officers from the Council visited his property without an appointment in February. I recognise the Council’s attempts here to resolve the issues raised by Mr and Mrs X. However, I understand how Mr and Mrs X found the visit upsetting. It would have been good practice for the Council to have arranged a visit in advance rather than turning up unannounced.

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Agreed action

59. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them.
60. Within one month of my final decision the Council will:
1. apologise to Mr and Mrs X for the faults identified in this statement;
2. pay Mr and Mrs X a sum of £450 (3 months x £150) to reflect the injustice caused by the delay in completing the works. This is in line with our guidance on remedies; and
3. review its handling of this case and consider how it can improve its management of the EEI Scheme in the future.
61. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

62. I have found fault by the Council causing an injustice to Mr and Mrs X. I have completed my investigation on this basis.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman