A council must pay a mum £2,300 after it failed to quickly fix hazards which put her children with mobility issues at risk of injury. Charnwood Borough Council was found by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to have caused the woman, identified only as Ms X, "distress, inconvenience and frustration" because it did not address a "dangerous" one-metre drop between her home and a neighbouring property.

An investigator for the watchdog said the council should have placed Ms X into a higher band on its housing register – reflecting the urgency of her and her family’s needs to be rehoused – or acted quicker to fix ‘Category 1’ hazards that could have seen her children fall downstairs or off a drop off the house’s driveway.

The council has apologised to the tenant, and said it was carrying out a review of its repairs procedures to ensure the issue will not happen again.

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The investigator’s report revealed Ms X moved into the council property in May 2019 with her three children. Ms X applied to the council’s housing register to find a new home for her family in February 2021, by which point she had four children. The council accepted her application in August 2021, and placed her in band 3 – reflecting the lowest priority – "because of overcrowding and disrepair". The report stated that band 3 is applicable for overcrowding purposes where a household "needs only one additional bedroom", and for disrepair purposes "where there is 'significant disrepair' that cannot be remedied within a time period the council considers reasonable".

In December 2021, the family’s occupational therapist recommended the council increase Ms X’s banding due to "dangerous and hazardous conditions at her property". This was followed by a visit by a council officer, who found 'Category 1' hazards which put the children at risk of falls.

The hazards included the property's outdoor steps being long and steep, with a handrail on only one side, the driveway being too long, steep and uneven, and a one-metre drop between Ms X’s home and the neighbours’ drive. The officer’s report recommended fencing or barriers be fitted to make the house safe.

Despite the council’s timescale saying the hazards should be dealt with by April 2, 2022, two of the the hazards were not fixed until May 17, with the remaining hazards finally made safe by November 30 – a month after the ombudsman contacted the authority about Ms X's case.

The investigator found the council at fault for the delay, and also said a decision to uphold the band 3 rating was made on an "incorrect assumption", because officers had not fixed all the hazards within its timescale. The watchdog’s report read: “These hazards meant Ms X and her family were living in unsuitable accommodation which the council could have rectified. These hazards also resulted in a fault in the council’s housing allocation process, resulting in Ms X remaining in unsuitable accommodation. The council had two different avenues to correct this fault; through rectification of the hazards, or an increased banding to Ms X’s housing application. The council did neither.”

A Charnwood Borough Council spokesperson said: “We fully accept the ombudsman’s verdict and have implemented all recommendations. We would once again like to apologise to the tenant for any distress and inconvenience caused.

"As the report says, the assessment carried out in this case was about the risk to health and safety. The hazards identified related to: the outside stairs being long and steep with only a handrail on one side; the driveway being too long, steep and uneven; the one-metre drop between the driveway and neighbouring driveway

“The council has installed fencing and a handrail to address the hazards. We accept the time taken to resolve the issues was unreasonable and are undertaking a review of our repairs processes to prevent a recurrence.”

The ombudsman ruled Ms X should receive £2,000 for the eight months her family remained in unsuitable accommodation because of unfixed hazards. The inspector also ordered the council to apologise to Ms X and to pay £300 for a 50-day delay in deciding not to complete a review of her housing assessment, and also for "the distress, inconvenience and frustration Ms X experienced". It must also complete a health and safety assessment of her home, and reassess her housing situation.

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