The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council suspending the complainant’s housing benefit. This is because there were appeal rights the complainant could have used.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council suspended his housing benefit. He says he was not aware of any time limits for going abroad and continuing to receive benefit.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) The Social Entitlement Chamber (also known as the Social Security Appeal Tribunal) is a tribunal that considers housing benefit appeals. (The Social Entitlement Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and new benefit decision letters. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The housing benefit regulations say most people can receive housing benefit for up to four weeks if they go abroad. In some circumstances the benefit is payable for eight weeks.
Mr X was abroad for about five months during 2023. When the Council found out it suspended his claim.
The Council subsequently cancelled the claim for the period when Mr X’s time abroad meant he was not entitled to housing benefit. The cancellation of the claim created an overpayment which the Council asked Mr X to repay. The Council reinstated the claim once he had returned to the UK and met the qualifying conditions. The benefit decision letters notified Mr X of his appeal rights.
I will not start an investigation because Mr X could have used his appeal rights if he disagreed with any of the benefit decisions. He could have appealed if he did not think the Council should have cancelled the claim while he was away or appealed if he did not think he should have to repay the overpayment. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed because the tribunal is the appropriate body to consider disputes about benefit decisions and because the Council notified Mr X of his appeal rights.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he could have used his appeal rights.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman