Lancashire family left in overcrowded conditions for more than a decade

29 Aug 2019 12:45 PM

A Lancashire mother of three, who also took on the care of her two grandchildren, had to sleep on a mattress in her living room for more than 10 years because the county council did not deliver the support it had agreed to.

The woman, who already had young children living with her in a small three-bedroomed terraced house, was promised an extension by Lancashire County Council as part of a Care Order granted in 2005.

For more than 10 years while waiting for the council to arrange the extension, both she and her daughter have slept on mattresses in her living room. And the whole family have lived in significantly overcrowded conditions.

The woman bought her house as agreed with the council and plans were drawn up in 2007 to add an extra bedroom and shower room, and to extend the downstairs kitchen/dining area and utility room.

However, it was not till 2011 the council agreed a budget for the work. The project was beset by delay, and the cost of the proposed works increased significantly. By 2016 the proposed costs had increased by £50,000 and the council told the woman the extension would no longer be built.

The woman complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, whose investigation found the council delayed getting an agreement for the extension, and reneged on its agreement to build it once the costs had escalated.

The investigation also found the council delayed deciding whether to provide the family with a people-carrier type vehicle in response to the court order. It eventually paid for a vehicle in 2016.

The Ombudsman has also criticised the council for not agreeing to pay for storage of some of the family’s belongings over a three-year period.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said:

“Lancashire County Council agreed to extend the woman’s property as part of a Care Order, which was made to promote the welfare of her two vulnerable grandchildren. The council failing to comply with the order is extremely serious, and it could have put the children’s placement at risk.

“Throughout the period five children have grown up and become young adults – because of the overcrowding, the whole family has struggled with a lack of privacy and emotional development. The extension would have significantly improved their living conditions had it been built as agreed.

“While the remedy we have recommended cannot make up for the long-term distress of living in such overcrowded conditions, I hope it can go some way to providing for a stable future for the family.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s role is to remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to write and send an apology to the woman, and pay her £24,000 to reflect the avoidable distress she and her family suffered living in overcrowded conditions for 10 years.

It will also pay her £500 for the distress and uncertainty she suffered because of its failure to make a decision in line with the care order on funding for a people carrier.

It will also reimburse all her storage costs for the period of December 2016 to January 2019.

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