Summary: Ms X complains via a representative that the Council wrongly left her family in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than a year and wrongly blamed her for failing to co-operate in resolving her situation. The Council failed to refer the matter to its homelessness team, and it did not assess Ms X, or provide her with suitable accommodation while this should have been happening, nor give her a written decision and opportunity to appeal. We find it more likely than not, given the Council had sought to persuade the borough from which Ms X had moved that she was not intentionally homeless, it would have reached the same view if it had acted properly. This caused injustice to Ms X and her children in having to live in unsuitable accommodation for more than a year. However, had Ms X been intentionally homeless, the Council might have been able without fault to place the family in the same bed and breakfast accommodation under the terms of the Children Act 1989, subject only to regular review of the children’s needs. This Act does not have the same focus regarding accommodation as housing legislation. We have therefore issued this report because of the potential for conflict between housing and social care duties, which may lead to perverse outcomes for children in need in other cases.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

We welcome that the Council has apologised for leaving the family in unsuitable accommodation from 10 October 2017 onwards and for taking too long to deal with the complaint at the first stage. It has also offered a payment of £700 for theunsuitable accommodation after 10 October 2017 and £100 for the delayed complaint handling, which Ms X has accepted.

However, the Council should also:

• apologise to Ms X for leaving her family in unsuitable accommodation from August 2016 to 10 October 2017, and for failing to consider if her anxiety and depression, or her dyslexia required it to make reasonable adjustments, at the least dealing with her solicitor rather than blaming her for lack of engagement;
• pay Ms X a further £3,900, made up of:
  • £3,500 at £250 a month for leaving her family in unsuitable accommodation for 14 months from August 2016 to October 2017;
  • £250 for her distress caused by the Council’s failure to consider the effect of her anxiety and depression on her actions, or her difficulties caused by dyslexia, when dealing with her; and
  • £150 for her additional time and trouble caused by delay in the second stage of the complaints process;
• remind staff that people living in difficult circumstances, particularly where they have children, may have consequent mental health difficulties that cause distress and impair their ability to adhere to social norms. This means that, while aggressive or abusive behaviour towards staff is still unacceptable, staff should consider whether the Council’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 mean they need to adjust their expectations of such people;
• remind social workers of the need to regularly review bed and breakfast placements of families;
• produce a joint working protocol for housing and children’s services to ensure proper communication and a consistent level of service for families in the area; and
• ensure there is access to a range of housing options, so it can arrange accommodation for families where bed and breakfast is not appropriate.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 8 April 2021.

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