09 Jan Ombudsman investigation finds Brentwood gatekeeping homelessness applications
A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation has found Brentwood council has been gatekeeping access to its homelessness services when people approach it for help.
Following an investigation into a complaint, the Ombudsman has raised concerns with the way the council assessed homeless applications, including the level of detail it required before it would even allocate cases to an officer.
The investigation found the council required far more information at the earliest stage of the application process than it needed to make an initial assessment, including bank statements and a five-year address history.
The council also set an arbitrary limit to the time it should take people to make their applications, and closed their cases if they failed to provide all information, or did so after the deadline had passed.
Over a six-month period investigated by the Ombudsman, the council closed around two-thirds of cases (216 cases out of 326) despite those applicants meeting the low threshold, set out in law, in which it must make inquiries. This is where the council has ‘reason to believe’ the applicants might be homeless. This means the council had a duty to consider, and make a decision on, all 216 cases. In all, it made a proper decision in just 22 cases.
Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said:
“We have issued this report because I have serious concerns about the way the council has been managing its homelessness service, in a way that suggests it has been artificially restricting numbers by putting unnecessary barriers in the way.
“Councils have a duty to assess whether people are homeless, but this duty arises when they have reason to believe an applicant might be homeless or threatened with homelessness. Not when they decide the applicant has jumped through all the right hoops.
“I am also concerned the council has been closing cases where people have not completed all its required steps, regardless of their circumstances. In some cases this has left particularly vulnerable people, such as those threatened with domestic abuse, or those who are rough sleeping, being dismissed without proper consideration.
“This overly-rigid approach amounts to gatekeeping – and it is likely the council has been failing in its duties to the people most at risk in the borough.
“I hope the council will learn from the issues we have highlighted and the change of approach it is now undertaking will ensure it meets its duties to other people at risk of homelessness in the borough.”
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to review its housing advice and other correspondence to identify cases where people may be in need and where the council owes them a duty. It will also contact all applicants whose cases were closed during the period to invite them to continue their applications.
The council will also review and amend its triage process to ensure it meets its obligations to homeless people and those people threatened with homelessness.
