Homeless family payout row referred to government

Leicester City Council says making all of the recommended payments would be "disastrous" for local authorities

A watchdog has called on the government to intervene after a city council refused to compensate a family it had failed, who were fleeing domestic abuse.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ruled in November a mother was not given the correct support when she asked Leicester City Council for help.

She fled her home with her children to a refuge and was then placed in an interim bed and breakfast (B&B) before being referred to self-contained accommodation.

The council said it would compensate the woman £500 but would not accept a further £1,300 recommended by the watchdog, as it was based on laws from more than 20 years ago that "do not take account of the national housing crisis".

It previously said the precedent set by following the ombudsman's full recommendation would cost the council £220,000.

According to UK law, families should only be put in B&B accommodation as a last resort for no longer than six weeks.

But the family was placed into a B&B, split across two rooms, for 19 weeks.

The family was eventually offered a one-bedroom property and, despite the council acknowledging it was not suitable, it failed to tell the mother she could appeal, the ombudsman said.

'Incredibly rare'

The watchdog has since issued a further report welcoming the council investing "significantly" to tackle its housing shortage, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But it has written to the new secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, to highlight its concerns about the council's handling of the case.

Ombudsman Amerdeep Somal said the decision had not been "taken lightly", and said: "It is incredibly rare for local councils not to accept our recommendations.

"The council appears to be rejecting our findings because it does not believe it should be accountable because of a wider housing crisis.

"The law was made to protect homeless families. We cannot hold the council to a lower or different threshold. Many other councils face similar challenges.

"The mother has told me the extra stress of living in unsuitable housing has badly affected both her mental and physical health. Leicester's refusal to make the payments we recommended means the family has not received any proper recognition of what they have been through. This has only added to the upset she continues to feel."

The issue is set to be discussed at next week's full council meeting.

A spokesperson for Leicester City Council said: "We are currently considering the ombudsman's second report and will be notifying their office of the action we intend to take in due course.

"As we received the report while finalising the agenda for our next full council meeting, the council's monitoring officer has submitted it to the meeting so that councillors have the opportunity to review it before any final decision on the next steps is taken."