via the Local Government Lawyer blog [thanks to Inner Temple Library] 15 December 2017
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found fault in 70% of complaints about homelessness it investigated in detail in 2016/17.
In a report, Still no place like home, the LGO said it had received around 450 complaints during the year about services by English authorities. One in three of those complaints came from outside of London.
The Local Government Association called on the Government to include measures in the Local Government Finance Settlement to tackle the problems identified.The Ombudsman's report also said:
Homelessness was increasingly affecting families from areas and professions who previously might never have expected to face problems finding somewhere to live, but who had been forced to call on their local council’s help by the increasing unaffordability of private tenancies.
It was "worrying" that problems remained four years after the LGO's report on councils’ inappropriate use of bed and breakfast accommodation to house families and children. There were still “too many cases where councils are acting unlawfully by placing homeless households in bed and breakfast accommodation for lengthy periods of time”.
Families who have been stuck for significantly longer than the six-week legal limit– some for more than two years – were increasingly having to stay in conditions where damp or infestation was a problem, often affecting their physical and mental health.
The LGO’s report gives local authorities best practice guidance. It also offers councillors and scrutiny chairs a number of questions they can ask of their own authorities to ensure they challenge the number of families left in unsuitable accommodation for too long.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Our cases show many pre-conceived ideas about the people affected by homelessness simply no longer ring true. The increasing cost of private rents has meant we have seen a shift towards more people in professions such as nursing, and their families, becoming affected.
“Many of these families are being placed in poor quality accommodation, for periods significantly longer than the six-week legal limit. And we’re seeing signs the problems are growing more acute, particularly with an increase in the length of time families are having to stay in temporary accommodation.
“More worrying still, we are finding that many families are not being told of their review rights when placed in unsuitable accommodation, so they have no information on how to challenge the decision and improve their circumstances.”
Cllr Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s Housing spokesman, said: “This research demonstrates that housing is becoming more and more unaffordable, and that urgent measures are needed to tackle our national shortage of affordable homes. Councils are facing immense pressures when it comes to temporary accommodation, having to house the equivalent of an extra secondary school’s worth of homeless children every month, and the cost of providing temporary accommodation has trebled in the last three years.
“Local authorities do all they can to place people in the best accommodation available, but the reality is that with limited housing options, councils often find themselves having to extend stays in temporary accommodation, as the only alternative is that families and individuals find themselves out on the streets. With limited housing stock and a £5.8bn overall funding shortfall by 2020, councils are doing all they can to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, but they urgently need more funding and resources from government.
“At the root of all of this is our desperate need to supply more affordable homes in the long term, and to help people most at risk of homelessness immediately. That means the Government lifting the housing borrowing cap across the country, and allowing all councils to borrow to build, and adapting welfare reforms to make sure that housing remains affordable for low-income families, because the need is urgent, and new homes won’t appear overnight.
“These are both measures that could be taken in the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement, and we would urge the Government to do so.”
And if anyone can easily find a copy of this 2017 report I would be grateful if you would comment on this post and let us all know where to find it.
I thought I was at least a reasonably competent information searcher but all I can find is the 2013 report (even when the link says 2017).
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