The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council removing a Severely Mentally Impaired exemption from Mrs X’s Council Tax account. Mrs X has the right to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and it is reasonable to expect her to do so.
The complaint
Mrs X complained that the Council wrongly removed a Severely Mentally Impaired exemption from her Council Tax account. Mrs X said this caused significant distress to her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also puts 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council gave Mrs X a Severely Mentally Impaired (SMI) exemption for her Council Tax. It later removed the SMI exemption. We will not investigate this complaint as Mrs X has the right to appeal against the Council’s decision to the Valuation Tribunal. The Council told Mrs X about her right of appeal so we consider it is reasonable to expect her to appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman