Council rejects Ombudsman’s call to compensate homeless family

Leicester City Council has refused to accept a recommendation from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) to pay financial compensation to a homeless family who were left in bed and breakfast accommodation for almost ten months longer than the law allows.

The Ombudsman found the council at fault for multiple failings in how it handled the family’s case, including delays in reviewing their Personalised Housing Plan, not advising them of their right to appeal the suitability of accommodation offered, and taking too long to accept that it owed them the main housing duty.

The family, placed in separate B&B rooms in August 2023 due to their size, were moved between several locations before finally being offered suitable housing in July 2024.
Under homelessness law, councils should not leave families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks. However, the investigation found the family remained there for an additional 42 weeks, contrary to statutory guidance.

The Ombudsman recommended that Leicester City Council apologise and pay the family £500 for the uncertainty and distress caused, as well as £3,525 for the injustice of living in unsuitable accommodation for an extended period. While the council agreed to apologise, it has declined to make the financial payment.

The refusal marks the second time this year that Leicester has rejected an Ombudsman recommendation — an unusual step given that councils typically accept the watchdog’s findings and remedies in the vast majority of cases.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said she was concerned that the council had failed to fully acknowledge the personal impact of its failings.

“The council is not alone in experiencing increasing pressure on its homelessness services. However, it is unique in repeatedly declining to agree to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused to families impacted by its failings,” she said.

“By refusing to acknowledge and remedy the injustice caused to the family – including splitting them up across separate rooms – for nearly ten months, I am concerned Leicester City Council has yet again not fully accepted the personal impact of what has gone wrong.”

Clarke said the Ombudsman’s report recognised that Leicester had made service improvements to reduce its reliance on B&B accommodation, but stressed that the recommended financial remedies were proportionate and specific to the individual cases.

“We cannot become apathetic to failings simply because we see these repeated across different parts of the country,” she added. “I urge Leicester City Council to reflect on this case, and its responses to my office, and to put things right for this family.”

The LGSCO investigates complaints about local authorities and social care providers in England and makes recommendations to remedy individual injustice and improve services.
Under its statutory powers, Leicester City Council must now formally consider the Ombudsman’s report at a full council meeting or equivalent senior decision-making level and issue a response outlining how it intends to proceed.