Councillor Clare Welsby is the group leader of Ealing Green Party. She writes of her concern that a homeless mother and her child were left in unsuitable accommodation for around 13 weeks longer than they should have been after Labour-run Ealing Council took too long to review her housing case, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.
“I was very concerned to hear about this case and pleased to see that Ealing Council have accepted the Ombudsman findings. However, what was already a very stressful situation for a homeless mother and child should have been dealt with more urgency: so that this mother did not have to challenge and argue her case for suitable housing as well as manage the difficulties of resulting from homelessness and having to resort to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for redress.
“The adverse and long-term impact of homelessness on children is well known and whilst I recognise that housing is a very short supply, children and their families must be prioritised. In my role as a councillor in scrutinising policy and practice within children’s services – I have requested that support for children and families living in temporary accommodation is reviewed. I will ask to extend this, taking these findings into account, to include when children and their families are first identified as homeless.
“This follows on recent reports from the Housing Ombudsman who have opened a Tier 1 investigation into Ealing Council’s housing service after identifying a high incidence of maladministration and severe maladministration findings in complaints from residents living in council homes, with leaks, damp and mould among the key concerns.
“Emergency housing processes and those for existing council tenants do not appear to be working as they should and both need to be addressed.”
