Milton Keynes Council must pay tenant for 'poor experience'

Milton Keynes Council apologised for the "poor experience" its tenant had

Failings made by a council to a man with "significant mental health needs" worsened his condition, a report said.

Milton Keynes Council failed to assess the man's housing needs and did not make sure the accommodation it moved him to was suitable.

A report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said he could not get to the shops and spending money on food deliveries put him in debt.

A council spokeswoman said it had apologised for the "poor experience".

The local authority was told it must pay the man, named only as Mr X, £1,750 for the "distress and uncertainty" caused to him.

It was also made to apologise for not responding promptly to a complaint made by the resident.

'Unsuitable'

"The council's failings had a serious impact on Mr X's mental health and his ability to continue with medical treatment," the Ombudsman said.

In his complaint made in April 2022, Mr X said the council initially told him he could not live alone due to his "ill health", but then provided him with "unsuitable" accommodation.

It was alleged the property was in "disrepair" and the doors were not lockable, so he was then moved to another building. However, this had no heating.

The report said Mr X lost specialist treatments and was discharged from NHS services after he could not get his adult social care needs met in his new home - at no fault of his own.

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He said in his complaint that the situation caused his health to deteriorate "significantly" and that he lost access to medical treatment and work.

The ombudsman found the council failed to properly assess Mr X's housing needs.

The council spokeswoman said: "We have apologised for the poor experience and done everything that was requested by the ombudsman. We will learn from this case to do better in the future."