The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to issue Mr X with a decision letter about his homelessness. This is because the Council has accepted it was at fault and has agreed to take action we have recommended to remedy the injustice caused to Mr X.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to accept a homeless application from him when he asked for help. Mr X says this has caused him uncertainty and distress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.
My assessment
The Council has accepted it should have issued Mr X with a decision letter when it decided he was not homeless. The Council had carried out initial enquiries with third parties about Mr X’s circumstances which meant the threshold for issuing a decision letter had been reached.
Following our recommendations the Council has agreed to take suitable action to remedy the injustice. We cannot say what the outcome of the Council’s decision should have been and given the time that has passed there may be new information it will need to take into account. The remedy we have recommended takes account of this and we have asked the Council to reopen the application.
Agreed action
The Council has agreed to take the following action to remedy the injustice Mr X was caused: Reopen Mr X’s homeless application.
Pay Mr X £200 to acknowledge the uncertainty he has ben caused.
The Council has gone further and taken the following action to improve its services: Remind staff of the need to issue decision letters when appropriate.
Review similar cases to ensure they were dealt with properly.
Offer for Mr X to meet a senior officer to discuss what happened.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has agreed to take action to a suitable remedy the injustice caused to him.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman