Council apologises after turning away 216 potentially homeless cases
Brentwood Council admitted failings in its approach and said it had reviewed its service.
Hundreds of cases of potentially homeless people, including domestic abuse victims, were dismissed by a council which has apologised for “failings” in its approach.
Brentwood Council in Essex was accused by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman of “gatekeeping” by restricting access to its homelessness services.
It was found to have closed 216 cases over a six-month period from November 2023 to early May last year, despite the applications all meeting an initial threshold to be given interim accommodation while the case was investigated further.
Housing charity Shelter said it had “all too often” heard from people across the country being turned down for help “through no fault of their own, even when the council had an obligation to help them”.
Brentwood council had set an arbitrary time limit on how long it should take people to make their applications for help, and demanded “far more” information than needed in the early stages of its assessment, including bank statements and a five-year address history, the ombudsman said.
People who did not meet these demands had their cases closed.
Councils have a legal duty, if they have reason to believe an applicant might be homeless or is threatened with homelessness, to formally make an assessment.
The council was found to have closed around two-thirds of cases – 216 cases out of 326 – at the earliest stage in the process.
Around 30 cases mentioned domestic abuse while others mentioned rough sleeping, the ombudsman said.
Some of the cases involved the same person, as some people reported making multiple pleas for help because of their initial applications being turned down.
The council made what the ombudsman described as a proper decision in just 22 cases.
Ombudsman Amerdeep Somal said the findings suggested the council “has been artificially restricting numbers by putting unnecessary barriers in the way”.
She said a council’s 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”.
Ms Somal added: “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 ombudsman said it had heard of similar issues in other areas and that, while it understands the financial pressures councils are under, they must meet their legal duties on homelessness.
Homelessness has hit record highs in England, with the latest official figures, published in December by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, showing 123,100 households in temporary accommodation in the three months to the end of June, a rise of 16.3% on the same period the previous year.
There were 159,380 children were in temporary accommodation in the same three-month period last year.
Brentwood Borough Council’s chief executive acknowledged failings in its processes and said it had reviewed its homelessness services.
Jonathan Stephenson said: “We accept the findings of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and acknowledge there were failings with the past triage process, which we sincerely apologise for.
“I can confirm that we have already undertaken a review of the service and have implemented a range of measures to improve the triage process.
“We have addressed the issues raised in the report and have actioned the report’s recommendations.
“We are committed to offering help, advice and assistance to our vulnerable homeless and those at risk of homelessness, in line with our duty and legislation.”
Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “All too often our frontline services hear from people facing homelessness being turned down by the council through no fault of their own, even when the council has an obligation to help them.
“Struggling families are left worried sick about where their children will sleep, while single people are at risk of spending the night on the street if they do not get the help they need.
“The Government must ensure councils have enough resource and are held to account for meeting their legal duties to people facing homelessness, so everyone gets the help they are entitled to.”
