Council apologises after turning away 216 potentially homeless cases Hundreds of cases of potentially homeless people, including domestic abuse victims, were dismissed by a council which has apologised for “failings” in its approach.
The council had set an arbitrary time limit on how long it should take people to make their applications for help, and demanded “far more” information than needed in the early stages of its assessment, including bank statements and a five-year address history, the ombudsman said.
The council was found to have closed around two-thirds of cases – 216 cases out of 326 – at the earliest stage in the process.
It was found to have closed 216 cases over a six-month period, despite the applications all meeting an initial threshold to be given interim accommodation while the case was investigated further.
Around 30 cases mentioned domestic abuse while others mentioned rough sleeping, the ombudsman said.