Summary: Miss Y complained the Council had not moved her to alternative accommodation as it offered to do in May 2022. She also complained it did not provide her with appropriate support to engage with this process. We have not found fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I am calling Miss Y, complains the Council has not moved her to suitable alternative accommodation, as it offered to do in 2022. She also says it failed to provide her with the support she needs to engage with the process of finding alternative accommodation.
2. Because of these failures she is still living in a property which does not meet her needs. This is affecting her well-being.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to Miss Y, made enquiries of the Council and read the information Miss Y and the Council provided about the complaint.
7. I invited Miss Y and the Council to comment on a draft version of this decision. I considered their responses before making my final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

Good administrative practice

8. Our published guidance on “Good Administrative Practice” sets out the standards we expect when we investigate a council’s actions.
9. One of these standards is being service-user focused. This includes:

• Ensuring people can access services easily including those needing reasonable adjustments;
• Keeping to commitments, including any published service standards;
• Dealing with people helpfully, promptly and sensitively, taking account of their individual circumstances; and
• Responding to service users’ needs flexibly and, where appropriate, coordinating a response with other service providers.

The Equality Act 2010

10. The Equality Act protects the rights of individuals and supports equality of opportunity for all. It offers protection in employment, education, the provision of goods and services, housing, transport and the carrying out of public functions.
11. The Act makes it unlawful for organisations carrying out public functions to discriminate on any of the nine protected characteristics listed in the Act. These ‘protected characteristics’ include disability.
12. These organisations must also have regard to the general duties aimed at eliminating discrimination under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities

13. The reasonable adjustment duty is set out in the Equality Act. It applies to any body which carries out a public function. It aims to make sure a disabled person can use a service as close as it is reasonably possible to get to the standard usually offered to non-disabled people.
14. Service providers are under a positive and proactive duty to take steps to remove or prevent obstacles to accessing their service. If the adjustments are reasonable, they must make them.
15. The duty is ‘anticipatory’. This means service providers cannot wait until a disabled person wants to use their services but must think in advance about what disabled people with a range of impairments might reasonably need.

What happened

Complaint background

16. Miss Y complained to the Council about its failure to support her with an offer of, and her move to, permanent accommodation in December 2021. She also told the Council the accommodation wasn’t suitable for her.
17. At a meeting with Miss Y in May 2022 the Council accepted her current permanent accommodation was causing her difficulties. It was not close to transport and shops, making it hard for Miss Y to access amenities because of her mobility issues. In recognition of the difficulties with her accommodation, the Council agreed to make Miss Y one direct offer of alternative permanent social housing.
18. Miss Y had also asked us to investigate her complaint. In February 2023 we issued a final decision finding fault by the Council causing Miss Y injustice. We noted the Council’s agreement to make Miss Y an offer of alternative suitable accommodation. We asked the Council to report back to us about this as part of our recommendations to remedy the injustice.

March 2023: Miss Y’s further complaint to us

19. By March 2023, Miss Y had still not moved to alternative accommodation. She complained the Council had not done enough to find her a suitable property or provide the support she needed to engage with the process.
20. Miss Y asked us to investigate her complaint. We asked the Council for information and records of the action it had taken since May 2022 to help Miss Y move to another property.

The action taken by the Council from May 2022

21. I have set out a summary of the key events below. It is not meant to show everything that happened. It is based on my review of all the information provided about this complaint.

June 2022: first direct offer of alternative accommodation

22. The Council put in place arrangements for an Occupational Therapist to accompany Miss Y on viewings of any properties it offered her.
23. It offered Miss Y a one-bedroom ground floor flat with a shower. It said this was within five minutes of a bus stop and walking distance of shops and amenities.
24. Miss Y refused this offer. She said it was too far from local transport and she did not want to live in that part of Islington.
25. The Council considered Miss Y’s reasons for refusing the offer. It agreed to take into account her requests to be close to shops, transport and amenities and would make her one further direct offer. It told Miss Y if she declined this final offer, it would not make her any further direct offers.

Miss Y’s request for new build accommodation

26. Miss Y asked the Council if it could put her on the list for a flat in a new social housing development which was being built in the borough.
27. The Council explained all its new build social housing developments were subject to local lettings policies giving priority to residents living in the development’s locality. Because she did not live within this locality, it was very unlikely she would be considered for a property in that particular new development.

July 2022: final direct offer of alternative accommodation

28. The Council identified a second available property to offer Miss Y. The Occupational Therapist visited the property and assessed it as suitable for her.
29. The Council offered this property to Miss Y. But she refused the opportunity to view the second property with the Occupational Therapist and declined the direct offer.
30. Miss Y told the Council this was because she didn’t want to continue living in Islington. She wanted a move back to south London where she lived previously and had family and local connections.

August 2022: Miss Y’s request for a move to sheltered accommodation.

31. Miss Y asked about a move to sheltered accommodation.
32. The Council told Miss Y she was below the usual age limit for sheltered housing. But it looked into the possibility of finding sheltered accommodation within Islington for Miss Y and discussed this with her.
33. Miss Y decided she did not want to take this further as she still wanted a move back to south London.

September to December 2022: contact with south London councils

34. The Council contacted south London councils in Miss Y’s preferred locations. It asked each council whether it would agree to a reciprocal move.
35. Under this arrangement a south London council would offer Miss Y social housing in its area in return for the Council doing the same for one of its residents.
36. None of the south London councils contacted were able to offer Miss Y a reciprocal move.

January to May 2023: management transfer to alternative accommodation

37. The Council asked Miss Y’s social housing landlord whether it could offer her a management transfer to alternative accommodation.
38. Miss Y’s landlord offered her a transfer to sheltered accommodation outside Islington. She declined this because it was not in her preferred location.
39. The landlord offered a transfer to sheltered accommodation within the borough. Miss Y visited this with a social worker. They both concerns about its suitability because it was not on the ground floor.

Miss Y’s request for support to move to private rented accommodation

40. Because of the difficulty in arranging a move to social housing accommodation in south London, Miss Y asked the Council for help finding private rented accommodation in her preferred locations.
41. The Council’s housing manager supporting Miss Y met with her to discuss this. The Council agreed to help with her search. It found two potential private rented properties in south London. Viewings were arranged but did not go ahead.
42. Miss Y became concerned about whether she would be able to afford the high cost of a private rented property. She decided not to continue looking for this type of accommodation. She told the Council she would look again at a move to alternative social housing accommodation in Islington.

May 2023: Miss Y’s search for alternative social housing in Islington

43. The Council told Miss Y it would not make her any further direct offers of social housing. But it would help with her search for suitable alternative accommodation.
44. It agreed to provide Miss Y with support each week to:

• go through the weekly list of available social housing accommodation;
• make a supported choice offer for re-let property. This would not be based on her points allocation; and
• bid for any new build properties she was interested in.

45. The Council also discussed Miss Y’s points allocation with her. She was advised to provide any new medical information so this could be reviewed.

Support for Miss Y’s engagement with the process

46. I have reviewed the Council’s records about this which show:
1. The Council’s housing and adult social care teams worked together to support Miss Y. It appointed a housing manager and an adult social care manager as Miss Y’s single points of contact. These managers were in touch with Miss Y on a regular basis. They had meetings with Miss Y and other professionals about her care needs and housing options;
2. The Council arranged advocate support for Miss Y with the social care assessment. Its offers of advocate support for other meetings were not accepted;
3. It has tried to communicate with Miss Y in the ways she has requested. It noted she does not want any contact by post and her preference for communication by text or phone because she does not always have access to emails. It has sent her text messages and tried to contact her by phone on a weekly basis. When she has contacted it by email it has responded by email.

Miss Y’s current situation

47. Miss Y is still living in her current property. Her preference at the moment is a move to new build social housing.
48. The Council says:

• Miss Y can bid for new builds. But because of the local lettings policy, she won’t be prioritised for this type of property unless they are in her local ward;
• If she will only consider a new build property it is likely this will delay her move;
• As an alternative, she can make a supported choice offer for a re-let property. The housing manager will support her with this if she lets them know which areas she is interested in; and
• It is continuing to contact Miss Y regularly to offer assistance. The housing manager will continue to support her to bid weekly.

49. The Council has reviewed Miss Y’s points allocation and assessed her points as accurate based on her current situation.

My view – was there fault by the Council causing injustice?

50. Miss Y had a difficult time both before and immediately after she moved into her current accommodation in December 2021. In our February 2023 decision on her previous complaint, we found the Council failed to support Miss Y with viewing the property before she moved in and with the move itself.
51. But, for this further complaint, I have to decide whether the Council kept its commitment to Miss Y in May 2022 to support her move to suitable alternative accommodation.
52. Based on the information seen, my view is the Council has done so. This is because it:

• considered and accepted Miss Y’s reasons for declining its first direct offer and agreed to make one further offer;
• arranged for a suitability assessment by an Occupational Therapist, and a supported viewing of the accommodation for Miss Y, before making its final offer and;
• did what it said it would do at the May 2022 meeting. It did not then have to agree to make any further direct offers. But it continued to support Miss Y with her choices about the type of accommodation she wanted and and where she wanted to live. It worked with Miss Y try to find this.

53. I also consider the Council made reasonable adjustments and offered appropriate support for Miss Y’s engagement with the process.

Conclusion

54. Miss Y has told me how unhappy she is with her current accommodation and its location. I am very sorry she has not yet been able to move to alternative accommodation she considers would be suitable for her. But I do not consider the reason this hasn’t happened is because of any failure by the Council following the May 2022 meeting.
55. I have not found fault by the Council in the action it has taken to find Miss Y alternative accommodation or its support for her with this process.

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Final decision

56. I have completed my investigation. I have not found fault by the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman