Ombudsman unveils good practice guide for council officers on medical assessments for housing applications

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has released new guidance for council housing officers, detailing the best practice for deciding on medical assessments relating to housing applications.

The guide states that when considering requests for medical priority, a council should:

• consider all the evidence provided;
• keep a proper record of how the evidence has been considered, in the context of its allocation scheme;
• make its own decision and not simply accept the view of an independent medical adviser;
• provide the applicant with a written decision, setting out its reasons;
• carry out its assessment or review and make its decision without undue delay.

Additionally, councils are encouraged to consider the learning points set out above when investigating complaints. If a council identifies its service has fallen short, it should consider:

• what the impact of that was for the applicant, and
• what steps it can take to put matters right.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Amerdeep Somal said: “Our good practice guides share the learning from our investigations to help practitioners in councils make better decisions.

“The guides use summaries of our investigation decisions to highlight common problems, suggest good practice tips based on where things have gone wrong, as well as explain to practitioners our approach to handling complaints on the topics.

“I hope local authority housing teams across England will take the guide in the constructive spirit to which it is intended, and use it to reflect on their own processes and procedures to help prevent future injustice to people in their area.”

Harry Rodd