Council 'did not do enough to help homeless man'

HALTON Borough Council did not do enough to help a man who approached it for help when he became homeless because of domestic abuse, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

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Instead, it closed his case without telling him why or giving him the chance to appeal the decision.

The man first approached the council for help in October 2021. The council accepted it had a duty to help him and gave him a personal housing plan.

However, the Ombudsman found the council did not issue the man with a decision about whether it owed him the main housing duty and then closed his case.

The council claimed it did this because the man refused to cooperate. But the Ombudsman’s investigation found the council did not follow legislation by closing the case for this reason: it should have told the man in writing and given him the right to appeal the decision.

The council claimed it had tried to keep in contact with the man before closing his case, but the Ombudsman found the council's own records do not show this.