London Borough of Islington (17 011 285)

Category : Children's care services > Other

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 29 May 2018

Summary

Miss X complains the Council has refused to provide her with assistance with her housing. She says she is homeless as her mother has been evicted from temporary accommodation.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault found causing injustice.

Recommendations

The Council has also agreed to take the following action based on our recommendations:

  • The Council will try to contact Miss X and offer to carry out an assessment of her needs under the 1989 Children Act with reference to statutory guidance and in conjunction with its housing department. We said the Council should take this action immediately and without delay. The Council has taken this action but has been unable to contact Miss X.
  • If the Council believes that Council B is responsible for Miss X under the Children Act 1989 it should work with Council B to resolve any disputes. Miss X should not be disadvantaged by any disagreements and the Council should provide any necessary services until the disputes are settled. As the Council has been unable to contact Miss X there is no further action for it to take at this time. However, it should consider this recommendation should Miss X make contact in the future.
  • The Council has paid Miss X £400 for the distress caused as a result of its failure to provide assistance.
  • In addition to our recommendations the Council has “held a complaint learning meeting [about this complaint] … and [has] disseminated the learning across the [children’s services department]”. We welcome the positive action that the Council has taken to learn from this complaint and avoid similar problems for others in future.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 26 September 2018.

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