The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the suitability of the emergency accommodation arranged for him. This is because it was arranged by the probation service, not the Council. We cannot investigate the actions of the probation service.
The complaint
Mr X complained the emergency accommodation he was placed in was unsuitable because it was not an appropriate setting in which to have contact with his child. He also complained he had not been treated fairly when he applied to the Council’s housing register. He said he wanted to be able to bid for two bedroom properties as he had applied for sole custody of his child.
Mr X said he wanted the Council to allocate social housing for him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained the emergency accommodation he was placed in was not suitable for him. In its complaint response, the Council confirmed the probation service had arranged the accommodation and was supporting Mr X to identify alternative accommodation. We will not investigate this complaint further because we cannot investigate complaints about the probation service.
Mr X has since left the emergency accommodation and has asked the Council for homelessness assistance. If Mr X is unhappy with the homelessness support provided, Mr X will need to make a separate complaint about that. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the Council has had the chance to respond through its complaints process.
Mr X also raised concerns about the Council’s handling of his housing register application. The Council reviewed his housing needs, as part of its complaint response. It said he could bid for one and two bedroom properties, but he would only be offered a two bedroom property if he had gained custody of his child. We will not investigate this complaint further because there is insufficient evidence of fault to justify our involvement. In any case, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants, which is to ask the Council to allocate social housing. This is because Council can only allocate housing in line with its allocations scheme.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because part of it relates to a body outside our jurisdiction, and there is insufficient evidence of fault in relation to the Council’s actions to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman