Seriously ill child put at “grave risk” by Lewisham Council’s flawed homelessness policy, says ombudsman

Lewisham Council left it too late to find a homeless family and their ill child suitable accommodation, an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The immuno-compromised child, who was facing two years of hospital treatment, had to live in damp and mouldy accommodation outside of the borough and miles away from their hospital.

According to the ombudsman, the council left the family in their private accommodation until a week before bailiffs evicted them. The council had reportedly advised the family to remain in the accommodation, resulting in court bills of more than £46 a day.

The local authority said it would deem the family “intentionally homeless” and that they would have no right to help if they moved before this time, the investigation found.

The council then placed the family in accommodation with damp and mould issues in another borough. This meant that the child’s nurses could no longer make their weekly visits.

The investigation found that the authority took 13 months too long to provide the family with interim accommodation.

The ombudsman said the council has now agreed to apologise and pay the family more than £9,400 in compensation.

Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “This kind of brinksmanship has placed a severely ill child at grave risk and compounded an already distressing situation by forcing the family to live with the threat of being physically removed from their home hanging over them.

“The council has failed to grasp the seriousness of this case from start to finish and the family’s situation was only made worse by the council’s failure to provide suitable temporary accommodation or to properly respond to their complaints.

“This awful situation could have been avoided, and more suitable accommodation found sooner, had Lewisham not left it so late to act.”

Somal added that the council has agreed to end its “flawed” policy of leaving people facing homelessness in their property until the court grants a bailiff warrant. It now aims to assess and rectify similar situations for others in the borough who require homelessness services.

A spokesperson from Lewisham Council said: “We have accepted all the recommendations made by the Ombudsman and will take forward the actions detailed. We have also revised the policy which compounded the unacceptable delays in this case. We have apologised to the resident affected and acknowledge that we fell well short of the service expected of us.”