Summary: Miss B complained that the Council had failed to properly consult her or provide sufficient support when a relative (E) lived with her for three months. It also delayed in responding to her complaint about the matter. We found the Council should have contacted Miss B when it was aware E was living there, to discuss the arrangements and offer support. The failure to do so caused Miss B distress and financial hardship. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay her an additional £250.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained that the London Borough of Croydon (the Council) failed to properly consult with her when a relative (E) who was only 17 years old, moved into her house sharing a bedroom with her daughter. The Council made no further contact and did not offer any further support until July 2024 after Miss B complained that she could not manage any more. It caused her financial hardship and affected both her and her daughter’s mental health.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.
6. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

Back to top

What I found

7. E left his mother’s home and came to stay at Miss B’s house in the spring of 2024 following some personal problems. In mid-April E’s mother contacted the Council to say she did not know where E was staying. The police had said he was staying at Miss B’s house and did not want to go home.
8. The case was allocated to a social worker (SW) on 18 April 2024 to hold a strategy discussion and carry out a child and family assessment. She did not contact Miss B.
9. On 23 May 2024 E asked the Council for help in finding him alternative accommodation because he could not stay where he was any longer. He contacted SW on 3 and 6 June 2024 saying he needed to speak to her urgently as he would soon be homeless.
10. SW took steps to find alternative accommodation for E and made an appointment with the housing service to carry out a joint housing assessment on 13 June 2024. SW tried to contact Miss B several times on 12 June 2024 to tell her about the appointment.
11. E did not turn up for the appointment. It later transpired he had been arrested and then released on bail on condition he stayed at Miss B’s home.
12. On 25 June 2024 Miss B made a formal complaint about E staying with her for months and having to share a room with her daughter which was affecting everyone’s mental health and causing her financial difficulties.
13. On 2 July 2024 Miss B contacted SW saying she was struggling and E needed to go somewhere else. She was in serious rent arrears and had no food in the house. SW asked for approval for vouchers for food, gas and electricity. The Council only approved a £50 food voucher. It asked for evidence of financial hardship before approving any more.
14. Miss B’s sister contacted the Council on 8 and 15 July 2024 to say Miss B was really struggling and had no food. She sent evidence that the electricity bill was in arrears. SW tried to contact Miss B on several occasions but was unsuccessful.
15. On 19 July 2024 SW spoke to Miss B. She said E was due to have a housing appointment very soon and provided Miss B with a direct number to contact for updates and support. SW completed the child and family assessment, and her manager recommended allocating a family support worker to Miss B until alternative housing for E was found.
16. On 23 July 2024 the Council agreed to look for interim accommodation for E if he attended the office. He attended on 25 July 2024 but left before he could see anyone. Miss B said he had to leave her house that day. A housing provider offered an appointment but then rearranged it for 1 August 2024. E was then put on a waiting list for more permanent accommodation.
17. The Council responded to her complaint on 30 July 2024. It did not uphold it: it considered the Council had not delayed in seeking alternative accommodation for E and had tried to contact Miss B throughout the period, but she had not responded to messages.
18. Miss B escalated her complaint to stage two saying she had not agreed to accommodating E and one £50 food voucher was insufficient support. The Council did not reply so Miss B complained to us in September 2024. We sent it back to the Council to consider and respond at stage two of its complaints procedure.
19. The Council sent Miss B its response on 23 December 2024. The Council said it only became aware that E was living at Miss B’s property in mid-April 2024 when the police said they had confirmed with Miss B’s daughter that E was safe in her care and glad to have him there. The Council accepted that in hindsight it would have been appropriate to have confirmed the arrangements directly with Miss B.
20. It said Miss B made no further contact until 2 July 2024 when she requested financial support. The Council gave her a £50 food voucher and said if she provided more evidence of financial hardship, it could consider more, but Miss B did not provide any evidence. It upheld the complaint from 2 July 2024 until E left the property on 30 July 2024 and offered her £250: £100 for the financial impact, £100 for distress and £50 for the delay in responding to her complaint. Miss B complained again to us in early January 2025.

Analysis

21. The Council was not involved in the initial arrangement for E to stay with Miss B. So, it was not obliged to consider formal support at that stage. However, once it was aware that E was living there, I agree it should have contacted Miss B to discuss the suitability of the arrangement, how long E could stay there and the available support options. This could have included a family support worker, which was only offered in mid-July 2024 when the situation had reached breaking point. The failure to act sooner was fault which caused Miss B uncertainty, distress and financial hardship.
22. The Council was aware on 23 May 2024 that Miss B did not want E staying there any longer and E tried to seek help to find alternative accommodation on 3 and 6 June 2024 but did not receive a reply. This was another missed opportunity for SW to make contact with both E and Miss B to try and resolve the situation. Action at this point may have prevented complicating the situation once E was arrested.
23. By 2 July 2024 the Council was fully aware of the difficulties as Miss B had made a formal complaint and contacted SW to explain she was in serious financial difficulty. The Council did then take action to expedite securing alternative accommodation and provide Miss B with some support, but it was too little action taken too late as the situation had by now caused significant distress to Miss B.
24. The Council also took too long to respond to Miss B’s stage 2 complaint, taking five months. This was fault which exacerbated Miss B’s distress.

Back to top

Action

25. I welcome the Council’s recognition of fault and the offer of £250, but I do not consider it is sufficient in the circumstances. I recommended that within one month of the date of my final decision, the Council:
• Apologises to Miss B and pays her an additional £250 making a total of £500 for the lack of support in accommodating E and the delay in dealing with her complaint.
26. The Council has agreed to this and should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

27. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman