South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (04C18995)

Homelessness                            Maladministration causing injustice

12 December 2005

‘Mr Snow’ (not his real name for legal reasons) was a young homeless person in priority need, and he complained about the way the Council dealt with his housing application. He was provided with the wrong form when he first approached the Council, and it then took the Council two months to enter the information from this form on its computer system, which was maladministration. Had the correct form been provided by the Council and completed by Mr Snow he would have been accepted as homeless and in priority need. This would either have led to an attempt by the Council to seek his reconciliation with his family or to have found him suitable accommodation. As it was, he was left homeless which was a considerable injustice to Mr Snow.

The Ombudsman found maladministration causing injustice and recommended that:

• the Council should pay Mr Snow compensation of £2,000;
• in view of the fact this was the second occasion when the Ombudsman had found maladministration in the Council’s dealing with a homelessness application from a young person, it should review its housing service to ensure that, in future, young people seeking assistance in these circumstances are properly assessed.

The Council readily agreed to both recommendations.

Date Published: 19/08/09