Overview:

Key to names used

Miss X The complainant

Summary

Miss X complained about the temporary accommodation the Council provided her family with while she is homeless and the priority it gave her for social housing.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must consider the report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council or Cabinet and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

To remedy the injustice caused, the Council should:

• apologise to Miss X;

• arrange suitable alternative temporary accommodation for her and her family;

• pay Miss X £300 a month for the period between January 2021 and when it makes Miss X an offer of suitable alternative temporary accommodation to recognise the distress caused by having to live in overcrowded accommodation;

• pay Miss X £200 for the time and trouble of having to complain to both the Council and us; and

• refer Miss X to its Children’s Services team to establish what additional support it can provide for Miss X and her children.

To improve services to Miss X and other homeless families, the Council should:

• review its procedures for keeping the suitability of temporary accommodation under review to ensure it properly reviews suitability where there are relevant changes of circumstances; and

• review its policy for referrals between its housing, children’s services and environmental health teams to ensure that it makes appropriate referrals where families with children may need support or are living in overcrowded accommodation.

The Council has accepted our recommendations.

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