London Borough of Lambeth (07B01138, 05232)

Homelessness                             Maladministration causing injustice

30 June 2008

Two homelessness applicants had to wait nine months for Lambeth Council to decide if it accepted a full housing duty to them. The Ombudsman says “I do not accept that the Council’s decision to reorganise its services relieves it of the need to comply with the Code [the Government’s Homelessness Code of Guidance],” adding “disruption was wholly foreseeable”.

He comments: “This is a very important area of the Council’s work and people applying as homeless are often vulnerable and dealing with stressful circumstances.”

‘Miss Webb’ and ‘Miss Bell’ (not their real names for legal reasons) who are unconnected and do not know each other, complain separately that the Council delayed dealing with their applications for assistance after they became homeless.

The Ombudsman’s investigation finds that the Council delayed seriously in making decisions about whether it owes a full housing duty to homeless applicants, owing to a backlog of assessments following a reorganisation of the service. This has impact on priority for allocations of housing from the housing register, but does not appear to have caused serious disadvantage to either Miss Webb or Miss Bell in being rehoused.

The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice and, in accordance with his recommendations, the Council has agreed to pay £500 to each complainant in recognition of their uncertainty, distress and anxiety, and the time and trouble they took in pursuing their complaints.

In addition, the Ombudsman recommends the Council to:

• ensure the effective date of homelessness decisions it makes while dealing with its backlog is set back to the date of the original application;
• continue to pursue the management and procedural changes it has started to implement, to ensure that it resolves the backlog as quickly as possible; and
• report back to the Ombudsman as soon as practicable.

Date Updated: 21/10/08