Council to pay more than £10k after failings put child at risk of gang violence

A report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has revealed that a four-year-old child was placed “at risk of gang violence” because a council did not do enough to check on them and their mother when their uncle was released from prison and allowed to live with them.

Croydon Council has agreed to pay £10,550 to remedy the injustice caused.

The woman behind the complaint was the child’s mother, who left foster care in 2016 shortly after her 18th birthday.

Despite the council having a legal duty to make sure the mother and child had a suitable place to live, for the next five years they lived in accommodation which she could not afford. The Ombudsman noted that consequently, the mother was left with significant rent arrears.

The report said that the woman’s younger brother left prison in 2018 and needed a fixed address because he was being monitored by the police. The young woman felt she had “no option but to house him”, despite him being at risk of gang-related violence, and had received threats before at gunpoint.

The woman also gave up the second year of her university course to ensure her brother was safe, the Ombudsman revealed.

The woman complained to the council about the lack of support she and her brother received when she left the council’s care.

Following this, she complained to the Ombudsman because she was not happy with the council’s response.

The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that the council had “not done enough to fully acknowledge or remedy the distress caused by its actions”. It also criticised the way the council handled aspects of the woman’s complaint.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “The young woman at the centre of this case has told me how she lived in fear during the time her brother lived with her, with the very credible risk of him and her home being targeted by violent gangs. She felt she had to give up her university course to keep the household safe.

“Despite this, the council could not show any evidence it had looked into the risk this posed to the woman’s young child, who was only four years old at the time.

“I’m pleased the council has accepted my recommendations, and hope the remedies it will now provide for the young woman will go some way to getting her life back on track after her distressing experiences.”

Following recommendations from the Ombudsman, Croydon has agreed to pay:

• £9,250 plus any interest to the Student Finance Company to recognise the impact on the woman’s university studies and the debt she incurred.
• £1,000 to recognise the significant distress the woman suffered while living in unaffordable accommodation and for the credible fear she endured while providing an unregulated placement for her brother.
• £300 to recognise the avoidable time and trouble she experienced during the complaints process.

A Croydon Council spokesperson said: “We are very sorry that we didn’t provide our resident with better care and support, including properly assessing potential risks from housing her brother.

“We have apologised and compensated her for the financial loss and distress this has caused, and we have reviewed our procedures to make sure that we are offering all our young people the best possible support, as they transition from our care into independent living.”

Alongside the financial remedies, the council has said it will carry out work to understand why, when it was aware that the woman and her child were at risk of harm, it did not make inquiries to establish whether it needed to safeguard the child.

It will also ensure that all staff in its care leavers service receive a briefing that makes clear it has a duty to ensure that young people leaving care are supported to find suitable and affordable accommodation.

Lottie Winson