Two families left without proper housing support by Leicester City Council will now be offered the financial remedies recommended by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, after the council reversed its previous decisions refusing to pay.

The Ombudsman has today published a Further Report on one of the cases, calling on the council to reconsider its refusal to pay a symbolic amount of £3,525 to a man and his family. This is to remedy the impact of the council’s actions which left the family in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than the law allows.

The Further Report must be considered at a high decision-making level, and the council are required to formally respond to the Ombudsman. The council were informed in advance of the intention to publish a further report, in-line with the Ombudsman’s established procedure, and has now told the Ombudsman it will pay the outstanding remedy.

The council has also said it will now pay a remedy of £1,750, in a similar case in which a woman and her family, who had fled domestic violence, were placed in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than the law allows. The council had previously refused to pay the remedy following a Report and Further Report on the case by the Ombudsman.

Mrs Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

"I welcome the council’s change of position, which finally recognises the trauma these families have experienced, and I hope this may give them some closure to the issues.

“The combined total of £5,275 is a modest acknowledgement of what the families experienced. As we have previously stated, all our recommendations are based on the particular injustices found in each case – we don’t punish councils or set precedents for other investigations.”

Article date: 12 March 2026