A Liverpool man in need of surgery was left homeless on the streets of the city for six months during the pandemic despite repeatedly asking the city council for help.
The man first became homeless in June 2020 and contacted Liverpool Council for help in the same month. He said he made two further calls to the local authority for help, but none were recorded until September.
Despite the police raising their concerns with the council about the deterioration of the man’s mental health, the man remained homeless on the streets of Liverpool until December 2020, when his sister took him to a different council area. This other council provided him with accommodation over the next four months, away from the Liverpool area where his children lived.
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According to a report by the Local Government Ombudsman, the council recorded that it had lost contact with the man in March 2021 and closed his case, even though it had not responded to his requests for help or to a complaint made in January 2021 about the issues.
In late April the man had the surgery he needed for his medical condition, and the next month Liverpool Council offered him a place in a hostel. The man refused the offer because he felt too vulnerable to stay in a shared hostel while he recovered from surgery. Shortly afterwards he returned to Liverpool and began renting privately.
The man complained to the council about the way it dealt with his case, but the council did not properly consider this in line with its own complaints procedure - instead of taking 10 days to look at his complaint at stage one of its procedure, it took four months. When the man escalated the complaint to stage two the council took 12 months to deal with the complaint instead of just 28 days.
Michael King, local government and social care ombudsman, said: “Liverpool City Council did not do enough to help this man despite being contacted numerous times by his friends, the police and the man himself.
“Had it intervened when the man first approached the council for help, it’s likely he would have been offered interim accommodation, and he would not have had to live on the streets. Additionally, the council closed his case without ever checking up on his situation, contrary to both the council’s policy and government guidance.
“I’m pleased the council has accepted my recommendations to improve its services for people at risk of homelessness in the city.”
In a response, a spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: "Liverpool City Council has accepted the findings of a ruling from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman into the case of a man who was left homeless for six months during the COVID pandemic.
"The man, who also had deteriorating mental health and a medical condition requiring surgery, was homeless from June 2020 – December 2020. He was then taken to a different council area where he was provided with accommodation, away from his children.
"The case was wrongly closed in March 2021, but he was later offered a place in a hostel following surgery, which he refused because he felt too vulnerable. There were also long delays in the way the council dealt with his complaint."
Anne Marie Lubanski, Liverpool’s director of Adult Care and Health and Homelessness, said: “We apologise unreservedly for the failings in this case and have accepted the findings of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in full.
“Every year we successfully support hundreds of people off the streets and into accommodation but in this instance we let this man down and for that we are sorry.
“We have apologised personally and paid him compensation for the avoidable distress and risk of harm, and the time and trouble he spent pursuing the complaint.
“We have learned lessons from what went wrong and have reviewed our procedures for homelessness referrals and reminded staff of our duty to support homeless people in a timely manner.”
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 apologise to the man and pay him a total of £2,600 for the avoidable distress and risk of harm he was put to and also the time and trouble he spent pursuing the complaint.
The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will review its procedures for homelessness referrals and issue reminders to relevant staff to ensure it meets its statutory duties for homelessness applicants, within the required timescales.
It will also remind relevant staff about government guidance and the council’s own policy about the attempts it should make to contact a homelessness applicant before it closes their case.
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