Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed providing accommodation when she presented herself as homeless. She also complained the Council delayed a Child in Care review and failed to progress her stage 2 complaint in a timely manner and under the statutory complaints’ procedure. We found fault in the Council’s failure to use the statutory complaints procedure. The Council’s failure to accommodate Ms X when she first approached the Council as homeless is fault. This caused Ms X to sleep rough for four nights. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X, pay a financial remedy and carry out service recommendations.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council delayed providing accommodation when she presented herself as homeless in April 2024 and failed to accept a section 20 duty to accommodate her.
2. The Council also delayed in arranging a Child in Care review meeting which meant Ms X missed out on help and support.
3. In addition, the Council failed to progress the complaint to Stage 2 in a timely manner and did not respond to her complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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)
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

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant law & guidance

9. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
10. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)

Applications

11. If someone contacts a council seeking accommodation or help to obtain accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the council has a duty to make inquiries into what, if any, further duty it owes them. The threshold for triggering the duty to make inquiries is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the council. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)

Duty to arrange interim accommodation (section 188)

12. A council must secure interim accommodation for an applicant and their household if it has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
13. Examples of applicants in priority need are:

• people with dependent children;
• pregnant women;
• people who are vulnerable due to serious health problems, disability or old age;
• care leavers; and
• victims of domestic abuse.

Guidance for 16 and 17-year-olds

14. In a key case (the Southwark judgement), the court set out the principles which councils should follow when deciding if it has a duty to accommodate a 16 or 17 year old under section 20 of the Children Act 1989.
15. Statutory guidance published in April 2010, Provision of Accommodation for 16 and 17 year old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation lays out the duties of housing and children’s services departments to work together to ensure 16 and 17 year olds are suitably accommodated.
16. The 2010 guidance (paragraph 3.1) provides: “where a 16/17 year old seeks help from local authority children services, or is referred to children services by some other person or agency as appearing to be homeless, children services must carry out an assessment of what duties, if any, are owed to them … where the duty in s20 of the 1989 Act is triggered the local authority are under a duty to accommodate the child.”
17. Paragraphs 3.11 and 3.12 of the guidance state: “local authority duties for accommodating young people under this section are not simply a matter for local policy. The duty is engaged whenever a child in need in the local authority area requires accommodation as a result of one of the factors set out in s20 (1) (a) to (c)… As a result of being accommodated by children services for a continuous period of 24 hours the young person will become looked after… Children services will have a duty to maintain them, including meeting the cost of accommodation”.
18. The 2010 guidance states that councils should ensure they have a sufficient supply of accommodation options for homeless young people.
19. Where there is no immediate threat of homelessness intervention may be more appropriately led by early help services, whereas if there is an imminent threat of homelessness or if the young person is actually homeless, a child in need assessment must be carried out and the child accommodated under section 20. Children’s services must secure suitable emergency accommodation for them under section 20 of the 1989 Act, whilst their needs, including their need for continuing accommodation and support, are further assessed.
20. Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 says councils must safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need.
21. A child is in need if:

• they are unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development unless the council provides support;
• their health or development is likely to be significantly impaired unless the council provides support; or
• they are disabled.

Statutory complaints procedures

22. The law sets out a three-stage procedure for councils to follow when looking at complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail. We also published practitioner guidance on the procedures, setting out our expectations.

What happened

23. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
24. Ms X was 17 years old when she became homeless in early April 2024 after her mother said she could no longer stay in the family home. She initially stayed with friends and then approached the Council in mid-April 2024, informing it her friend could not accommodate her any longer.
25. A joint housing assessment between housing services and children’s services was completed. The housing team accepted it had a duty to provide accommodation under part 7 of the Housing Act but said it had no suitable accommodation available at the time. It put Ms X on a waiting list for accommodation and referred the case to children’s services, who accepted a duty to house and accommodate Ms X. It then informed her the following day this was incorrect, and she would need to remain with family/friends until she turned 18. It arranged to meet her the following week as part of an ongoing assessment.
26. Ms X contacted organisation Y, a support agency for young people. An advocate from organisation Y informed the Council Ms X would be street homeless as she had nowhere to stay. The Council tried to call Ms X but was unable to reach her. Ms X was street homeless for two nights and in A&E for another two nights on the advice of her advocate.
27. The Council gave Ms X accommodation in late April under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
28. Ms X told the Council she felt pressured by the social worker to accept support under section 17 of the Children’s Act instead of section 20. The social worker said being accommodated under section 20 may affect her exams. She says she was not informed she would be considered to be a child in need or looked after child during the joint housing assessment. The Council later explained to Ms X its section 20 duties and Ms X agreed to be accommodated under section 20 in mid-May. Ms X had a child in care review meeting in early June.
29. A safeguarding and quality assurance audit was completed on 14 August which confirmed Ms X was advised at the child in care meeting that she should not have been accommodated under section 17.
30. Ms X complained to the Council in June. It provided a corporate stage one response in mid-August. She progressed her complaint to stage two in late September. The Council gave a corporate stage two response in December 2024. It accepted the child in care review was delayed by 8 days. But it says the delay did not impact on the support Ms X received. It partially upheld Ms X’s complaint about the delay in accommodating her when she initially approached the Council. It also partially upheld the complaint that Ms X was wrongly given the option of section 17 or 20 duty.
31. Ms X was unhappy that her stage two complaints response was not completed by an independent person as required under the statutory complaints process. She then complained to us in March 2025.

Analysis

32. Ms X became homeless in April 2024 and approached the Council. The Council’s housing team and children’s services team both accepted the duty to accommodate Ms X but failed to do so until the following week. It had reason to believe Ms X was eligible, homeless and in priority need. The housing team should have offered accommodation under s.188 interim accommodation duty whilst it made enquiries. But it passed responsibility to children’s services as it had no suitable accommodation. This is fault as the duty to accommodate still remains, even if there is no suitable accommodation available.
33. Children’s services should have offered emergency accommodation whilst it made enquiries. It wrongly determined Ms X was not immediately homeless as it believed she could remain with her friend even though she told it she could not. It was unreasonable to ask Ms X to stay there longer. Ms X was sofa-surfing and was already homeless when she approached the Council. She was at a vulnerable stage in her life.
34. The social worker should not have given Ms X the option to accept being accommodated under section 17. The Council should have assessed Ms X as a looked after child under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, not section 17. Ms X slept rough for 4 nights as a result. This is fault. The Council should have accommodated Ms X when she approached it and applied the correct duty. This would have avoided Ms X being street homeless and the confusion and uncertainty caused about her future care.
35. Ms X’s child in care review was delayed by 8 days. The delay did not impact the support Ms X received.
36. The Council delayed issuing a stage two response and used the corporate complaints process instead of the statutory procedure. Ms X wanted an independent person to investigate the complaint at stage two. The Council already partially upheld Ms X’s complaint. We find fault in the Council failing to use the statutory process. Ms X would not benefit further from a statutory stage two response, as we have now investigated and made recommendations. We have made a service recommendation.

Remedy

37. We consider a financial remedy of £250 sufficient for not providing suitable accommodation to Ms X and the distress and risk of harm caused when Ms X slept rough for 4 nights. We have recommended this amount to reflect Ms X’s age and vulnerability, the raised expectations, uncertainty and risk of harm caused by the delay in accommodating and unclear application of section 17/20 duties.

Back to top

Action

38. Within four weeks of our final decision, the Council should:
• Apologise to Ms X for the delay in accommodating her, poor application of duties and injustice caused as a. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Ms X £250 for the delay in accommodating, and to recognise the distress and risk of harm caused.
• Ensure relevant staff are familiar with the Council’s Joint Housing and Children’s Social Care protocol for homeless 16- and 17-year-olds.
• Remind relevant staff that complaints which fall within the remit of the statutory children’s complaints process should be considered under that procedure.
39. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

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

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman