The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to award a council tax energy rebate in a woman’s case. This is because we could not add substantively to the Council’s own response regarding this matter or achieve a different outcome.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide that 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))
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information Miss B provided with her complaint, and the Council’s response to our enquiries in her case. I also took account of the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Government guidance about the CTR scheme said councils should award CTR to households paying council tax by direct debit, as soon as possible after April 2022. This was provided their eligibility and bank details had been verified. The guidance also said pre-payment checks were required for non-direct debit holders, and that all payments under the main CTR scheme should be made by the end of September.
To help councils with their pre-payment checks the government has allowed them to use its ‘Spotlight’ system for cross-referencing financial data, which has a bank account verification function.
Miss B pays her council tax by direct debit. Therefore she was expecting an early award of her CTR straight to her bank account. But the Council told her that her application had failed the Spotlight check. Miss B asked why this had happened, but the Council said the Spotlight system did not provide specific rejection reasons.
However, in its response to our enquiries the Council said that, at the end of the application process, it will make a payment of £150 for eligible households who have failed the verification checks as a credit to their council tax account.
From the information provided I understand the Council is currently working through the rejected cases and other applications in batches. It said it cannot deal with enquiries about individual cases at the same time and, in the circumstances, it cannot be specific about when it will make a payment in Miss B’s case. But it is trying to complete payments before the end of September.
It is understandably frustrating for Miss B that she has not yet received her CTR. But I am not convinced we have grounds to intervene with the Council regarding this matter.
In particular, I consider the Council was fully entitled to make use of the government’s Spotlight system even though that meant it had no direct control over that part of the verification process and was unable to explain to Miss B the precise reasons her application was rejected.
In addition, I understand the Council has a process for dealing with the outstanding CTR applications which it is currently following, and I see no particular reason at this stage to doubt that it will complete that process within the timescale set by the government. But in any case, it would be open to Miss B to come back to us if she does not receive her CTR by the end of September.
In the circumstances I do not see there is justification for us to recommend any particular action by the Council in Miss B’s case, other than what it is already doing, or that there are grounds to recommend it provides any further remedy. So as we could not add substantively to the Council’s own response or achieve a significantly different outcome, I consider we do not have grounds to investigate Miss B’s complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s failure to grant her a Council Tax Rebate for energy costs. This is because we could not add significantly to the Council’s own response to Miss B’s concerns or achieve a different outcome in her case.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman