The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing to backdate the complainant’s housing priority band. This is because part of her complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council in the way it reached its decision on her recent complaint.
The complaint
The complainant, Ms A, complained the Council refused to backdate her housing priority banding.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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) We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Mrs A has had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making my final decision.
My assessment
Ms A told us she joined the housing register in 2011 and the Council awarded Band C priority. She said in 2015 she asked the Council to reconsider her application. It turned down her request. In 2018 Ms A applied for additional priority when a household member turned 16. The Council agreed to award additional priority from the date of its assessment in 2018. In 2019 Ms A asked the Council to backdate the additional priority to the date she joined the housing register but it refused her request.
The Council considered Ms A’s complaint. It said in its final response in February 2022 it awards priority banding from the date it carried out the assessment. It will not consider backdating the priority as Ms A’s household did not meet its criteria in 2011.
We cannot investigate complaints received outside the normal 12-month period people have to bring their complaint to us unless we decide there are good reasons. Ms A could have complained to us sooner about what happened in 2019. I have not seen good reasons why she did not complain to us until 2022. There is also insufficient evidence of fault by the Council in the way it reached its decision on Ms A’s recent complaint. It applied its housing allocations policy when making its decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms A’s complaint because part of her complaint is late and there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council in the way it reached its decision on her recent complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman