Overview
The complainant, Mr C, complained that his granddaughter (Ms A) had been disadvantaged in applying for a Council property because of errors made in the application process.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:
- (a) wrongly suspended Ms A's application for housing, thereby jeopardising her chance of being allocated a house (not upheld); and
- (b) incorrectly awarded too many overcrowding points to Ms A (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) confirm to this office the steps taken to prevent repetition of the incorrect suspension of Ms A's housing application;
- (ii) confirm that work to correct the computer system error has been completed satisfactorily; and
- (iii) apologise to Ms A for the distress caused by the incorrect award of overcrowding points.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.