Brentwood council has apologised for artificially restricting the number of homeless people it helped by imposing unnecessary barriers. Following an investigation into a complaint, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has raised concerns with the way the council assessed homeless applications, including the level of detail it required before it allocated cases to an officer.
The investigation found that the council required far more information, including bank statements and a five-year address history, at the earliest stage of the application process than it needed to make an initial assessment.
The council also set an arbitrary limit on the time people should take to submit 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 216 cases out of 326 despite those applicants meeting the low threshold set out in law, in which it must make inquiries.
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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 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.”
Jonathan Stephenson, Chief Executive of Brentwood Borough Council, 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.”