The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision that the complainant is not eligible for the £150 energy rebate. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, disagrees with the Council’s decision that he is ineligible for the £150 energy rebate. He wants the Council to award a partial amount to reflect that he moved into his home in June.
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 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 Mr X. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered the government guidance, our Assessment Code, and comments Mr X made in reply to a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The government produced guidance regarding eligibility for the £150 energy rebate. Councils must follow this guidance. The rules say that to be eligible the person must be liable to pay council tax for a band A to D property on 1 April 2022. There is no provision in the guidance for a partial payment if someone moves to their home after 1 April 2022.
Mr X moved into his home in June 2022. He applied for the £150 energy payment. The Council declined the payment because he was not liable for council tax at this address on 1 April. The Council said he could make an application for a different address if he was liable for council tax elsewhere on 1 April.
Mr X disagrees with the decision because he will have to pay energy costs throughout the winter. He suggests the Council should make a pro-rata payment that excludes the period from April to June when he was not in the property.
Mr X says he was liable to pay council tax on a different property on 1 April. I asked the Council to check if Mr X was liable for council tax for that address. In response the Council said Mr X was never registered for council tax at that address and was not registered on 1 April.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council explained the eligibility rules and said it is following government guidance. Eligibility for the rebate is dependent on a person being liable for council tax on 1 April 2022. Mr X did move in until June and there is no provision for a partial payment. I can understand why Mr X feels aggrieved but there is nothing to suggest fault in the way the Council has applied the rebate rules. In addition, there is no evidence Mr X was liable for council tax at a previous address on 1 April. If Mr X disagrees he would need to provide the Council with evidence of council tax liability on 1 April 2022 for a different property.
We are not an appeal body and we cannot intervene because a council makes a decision that someone disagrees with. We cannot ask a council to make an award when that would be contrary to the government guidance.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman