Mum gets payout after Bucks Council moved her to housing she could not afford

The compensation was recommended in a new decision by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which investigates complaints against local authorities.

The watchdog said the woman’s payout was ‘in recognition of the uncertainty’ caused to her by the council’s failures and called for the authority to apologise and remind staff about the need to refer people for benefit advice when necessary.

The woman, known only as ‘Miss W’, moved to a supported living placement arranged by the council on 17 October 2023.

However, she did not receive housing benefit and could not afford to pay the weekly rent of £135, according to her mother, ‘Mrs Y’, who complained to the council.

The mum explained her daughter, who had a monthly income of £708, was caused ‘avoidable distress and significant debt from rent arrears’ due to the council’s ‘lack of communication and planning’.

The authority admitted it only provided Miss W with advice about benefits and rent on November 30, 2023, around six weeks into her placement.

It said this information should been provided prior to the woman moving into her supported living placement.

In its report, the Ombudsman said: “I agree with this because the statutory guidance makes clear that councils must provide information and advice about benefit entitlement to allow service users to make informed choices.”

The watchdog said the ‘injustice arising from this fault is uncertainty’, while describing the decision to move Miss W into the accommodation as ‘unwise’.

A council review of Miss W’s care plan in April last year concluded she was ‘not happy’ in her accommodation.

It also found support staff ‘did not take the time to develop a relationship’ with the resident and that she was ‘not meeting her personal care needs or maintaining her home’.

Angela Macpherson, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said the authority accepted the findings of the Ombudsman and apologised to her and her mum.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “When supporting any resident into a supported living arrangement we provide a range of help and advice as part of that, taking the time to talk through options and impacts with them and their representatives.

“Unfortunately, on this occasion we fell short in failing to outline the full information around available housing benefits and for that we are sorry. We have reminded all staff of the importance of this part of the process so we can do all we can to avoid this happening in the future.”