The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council telling Mr X he does not qualify for home insulation funding. This is because the complaint is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s decision that he is not eligible for funding to insulate the walls of his home. Mr X has arthritis which is made worse due to his cold house.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council told Mr X on 21 June 2021 that he is not eligible for funding for solid wall insulation.
Mr X complained to us on 2 September 2022 ie over 12 months from the date he knew of the Council’s decision, and several months after the Council’s final stage complaint response to Mr X in April 2022.
I do not consider there are good reasons to disapply the rule as explained in paragraph two and as such we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late to us and there are not good reasons to investigate now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman