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 full report can be read at https://www.lgo.org.uk/decisions/housing/homelessness/22-003-417
