Summary

Complaint from a young woman that the council failed to assess her as a 'child in need' and then failed to provide her with accommodation after she told the council she was homeless and that she was fleeing abuse in her family home.

The complaint

Complaint from a young woman that the council failed to assess her as a 'child in need' and then failed to provide her with accommodation after she told the council she was homeless and that she was fleeing abuse in her family home. She also complains that the council failed to respond to her complaint which was covered by the statutory children's services complaints procedure.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remdy the injustice, we recommend the council:

• apologise to the young women for failing to assess her as a 'child in need' and failing to take appropriate action;
• pay her £500 to acknowledge the distress it caused to her and the unnecessary risk in placed her in by not providing her with accommodation when she was homeless and most likely a 'child in need';
• review its 'Joint Protocol for Young People Aged 16-17 Years in Housing Need' within three months of our final decision;
• apologise to the young women and her representative for its failure to respond to her complaint;
• pay her £100 to acknowledge the uncertainty, distress and time and trouble caused to her by its failure to respond to her complaint; and
• review its administrative procedures for complying with the statutory requirements under the Children Act 1989 complaints procedure to ensure that in future it responds to complaints. To confirm it has carried out a review it will send us a copy within three months of our final decision.

The council has agreed to carry out these recommendations.

Ombudsman satisfied with council's response: 19 May 2014

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