Council took six years to sort benefits complaint

A council took six years to deal with a complaint about a woman's housing benefit when it should have taken four weeks, an ombudsman said.

Luton Borough Council told the woman her benefits claim had been stopped in April 2017 and she appealed a month later.

It took the local authority six years to refer the case to a tribunal.

The council blamed a lack of trained staff, the number of appeals and Covid-19 on the delay but said it was improving its process and hoped to clear the backlog in six months.

It told the ombudsman that a "historic restructure" and "unforeseen circumstances" had also affected staffing levels.

The complaint was made on the claimant's behalf by her son to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which later discovered in an investigation that the council had a backlog of 68 appeals dating back to 2019.

It published the findings of its investigation earlier on Thursday.

Following the report, the council agreed to send the woman a written apology and pay her £350 to recognise the uncertainty caused by the delay.

The ombudsman Amerdeep Somal pointed out the 68 people waiting could have their appeal upheld and had been without their benefits in that time.

She added: "I am pleased the council has accepted the faults I have identified, and the improvements it will now put in place should ensure other people in the Luton area will have their appeals forwarded promptly to the tribunal."

The authority was told to clear the remaining backlog within four months.

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