The Constitution (Article 12.03(a)) requires the Monitoring Officer to report to Cabinet (or to Council for non-executive functions) if any decision or omission has given rise to maladministration.  This report concerns actions that the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman has determined were maladministration/service failings. 

This report is also required under section 5A of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in view of the aforementioned decision in this matter by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

RESOLVED that Cabinet formally receives and notes the Monitoring Officer’s report (A.3) and, in particular, the findings/orders/recommendations from the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman in the case covered by that report, the compliance with those matters by the Council and the wider learning points set out therein.

Cabinet was reminded that the Constitution (Article 12.03(a)) required the Monitoring Officer to report to Cabinet (or to Council for non-executive functions) if any decision or omission had given rise to maladministration.  This report concerned actions that the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman had determined were maladministration/service failings by this Council. This report was also required under section 5A of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in view of the aforementioned decision in this matter by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman. The case in question considered by the Housing Ombudsman was as set out below.

Members were informed that the complaint had concerned a parent with two children who the Council had been able to house in temporary accommodation in the spring of 2024.  At the time, and in view of the difficulty in finding suitable private rented or social housing to meet the family’s needs, the parent and their children had been placed in bed and breakfast accommodation. The bed and breakfast accommodation sourced by the Council had provided them with an ensuite bedroom and a shared communal kitchen. The stay in this accommodation had continued for 10 weeks and 3 days.

Cabinet was cognisant that bed and breakfast accommodation could only be used for households which included a dependent child (or children) when no other accommodation was available and then for no more than six weeks. Bed and breakfast accommodation covered accommodation which was not self-contained, not owned by the Council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities were shared with other households (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.35).

It was reported that the Ombudsman had recognised the difficulty the Council had had in finding suitable accommodation for the family and that it had taken steps to increase its supply of temporary accommodation. However, the law and guidance were clear that bed and breakfast accommodation should only be used for a maximum of six weeks for families. On that basis, the Ombudsman had found maladministration by the Council in respect of the four weeks and three days the family were in bed and breakfast beyond the permitted six weeks. 

The Ombudsman had then considered the extent of the injustice in this particular case in respect of those 4 weeks and 3 days and had determined the payment that should be made to the parent.

Cabinet was advised that the Council had made representations to the Ombudsman concerning their draft decision and the Ombudsman had made changes from the draft to the final decision.  However, notwithstanding those changes, the Ombudsman had not adjusted the level of payment it recommended in this case. In recognition of the stated maladministration and the distress that the complainant would have experienced, the Ombudsman had recommended an apology be sent to the complainant and a payment of £1,000 be made to them.  The final decision notice from the Ombudsman had been dated 19 March 2025.

Members were informed that, both the apology and the payment to the complainant had been actioned.  The decision to authorise the payment had been made on 8 April 2025 and the individual had received the necessary payment. 

Cabinet was reminded that the Council had, since the opening of the Spendells House Temporary Accommodation facility in late 2024, been able to reduce the number of families being housed temporarily in bed and breakfast where the stay in that accommodation was over six weeks.  However, the demand for temporary accommodation, the supply of suitable accommodation and the financial position of the Council might well mean that situations occurred whereby families might have to be housed in bed and breakfast for more than the six weeks permitted.

Having duly considered the Monitoring Officer’s report on this matter:-

It was moved by Councillor Baker, seconded by Councillor Kotz and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet formally receives and notes the Monitoring Officer’s report (A.3) and, in particular, the findings/orders/recommendations from the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman in the case covered by that report, the compliance with those matters by the Council and the wider learning points set out therein.