The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s request for more housing priority based on Mr X’s volunteering work. There is not enough evidence the Council is at fault.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council did not give his housing application extra priority when he provided a letter from the organisation where he volunteers and has not sent ‘verification forms’ about the matter despite Mr X asking the Council to do this. He says this means his housing application does not have the right priority.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council’s housing allocations policy says the Council will give extra priority to applicants who do voluntary work in certain circumstances. The policy says a letter confirming the necessary points from a manager responsible for volunteers at the relevant organisation will be enough evidence.
The Council says it did not give Mr X extra priority based on a letter he supplied because the letter was undated, was not on the organisation’s letterhead and did not confirm how many hours Mr X volunteered or his role. It is for the Council to decide what evidence it needs to award the extra priority. In the circumstances, I see no fault in the Council’s decision that the letter was not enough evidence.
The Council told Mr X what information a letter should contain for the Council to award a priority star. It says it has not received such a letter. Mr X complains the Council has not sent the organisation ‘verification forms’ for the organisation to complete. The Council says that is not necessary as it will accept a letter.
The Council’s housing allocations policy does not suggest the Council has any ‘verification forms’ or requires the completion of such forms when considering voluntary work. Nor is the Council obliged to create and use such forms. The Council has made clear what evidence it needs from the organisation where Mr X volunteers. There is no fault in the Council expecting such information to be provided in a short letter. So I do not fault the Council for not sending ‘verification forms.’
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the evidence does not suggest the Council is at fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman