A person who had become homeless did not get the support they needed and was left in unsuitable housing due to council delays and faults.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has told Calderdale Council to pay £1,200 in compensation after a person was left distressed and uncertain about the future due to delays and unsuitable support. The person, refeered to as Mx D in the report, lodged a complaint against Calderdale after the housing and adult social care teams failed to meet their housing and social care needs while they became homeless.
Mx D was placed on the council’s housing register after a breakdown in their relationship with their family, with whom they previously resided. But delays and faults in processes followed forced MxD to stay in unsuitable housing without the necessary care support, causing them distress, uncertainty, and health issues.
According to the report, the Ombudsman did not find fault with how the council handled the initial contact from Mx D and found only some of the council’s teams at fault for certain elements of the complaint, but not others. It found that the council’s housing and adult social care teams caused distress and a loss of care support over several months in 2022 to Mx D due to delays and faults in their processes.
As a result, the Ombudsman said the council should pay compensation and issue a written apology for the delays caused by the teams in ensuring that the accommodation and care support were suitable to meet Mx D’s assessed needs throughout the period. The Ombudsman stated that Calderdale Council has since reviewed Mx D’s complaints and implemented changes to its services and staff training.
“I am satisfied its actions were appropriate to improve its services,” read the report.”
“I have therefore made some service improvement recommendations which is mainly to evidence its progress of doing so.”
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