The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will use our discretion not to investigate this complaint about the complainant’s priority on the housing register. This is because the Council has decided to increase the family’s priority.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has not correctly assessed his priority on the housing register. Mr X wants the Council to increase his priority.
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’. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and an update from the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X has been on the housing register since 2021 and is in band B. He needs a three bedroom property. Mr X asked the Council to increase his band and he submitted medical evidence.
The Council assessed the evidence but decided it did not demonstrate the application meets the threshold for band A. The Council said the issue was mainly overcrowding for which it had already awarded priority.
However, the Council has since decided to make a discretionary award of band A due to Mr X’s overall circumstances. It aims to write to Mr X in the next couple of weeks to confirm the increased priority.
Final decision
We will use our discretion not to investigate this complaint because the Council has increased Mr X’s priority to band A.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman