Council ditches 'too negative' ombudsman

Friday, December 08, 2006

Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council has refused to work with the local office of the local government ombudsman because a report it produced was too negative about the council and the ombudsman got things wrong. The council has ditched the York office and will work with the Coventry office instead.

Council leader Susan Williams said: "There remain some serious factual errors in the report and the conclusions take a uniformly negative view, even in the face of evidence we've provided."

The ombudsman said there was maladministration at the council and it refused to exercise discretion on a renovation grant repayment.

"Trafford Council repeatedly refused to waive repayment of part of a renovation grant for a mentally ill woman,” said local government ombudsman Anne Seex, who said the council should have made sure the woman understood the terms and conditions of the grant at the time she signed the application. She also said council officers were wrong to tell councillors that the woman's mental state was not relevant and she said the council should waive the repayment.

Williams said: "The council's policy is clear, in line with other councils. We provide grants - funded by local council tax payers - to people to help make their home fit to live in and to improve the housing infrastructure. If people move within five years of receiving the grant, the council requires repayment from the profit they make on the sale. The ombudsman has three times tried to force us to change our decision as elected councillors and, therefore, our policy.

"We're now pleased that because of this and other issues we've raised with the ombudsman's office, from April 2007 any cases involving Trafford Council will be dealt with by the ombudsman's office based at Coventry rather than York."