Mum separated from her kids to get compensation

A homeless mother who was unable to live with her two disabled children for over a year and a half after a south London council housed her in a flat that was not wheelchair accessible, is to receive at least £15,000 in compensation.

Her two eldest children, who both have significant disabilities and special educational needs, could not stay at the property due to steps and flights of stairs leading to nearly all the rooms.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), which deals with complaints about local authorities, said it had identified "serious failings" in the way Lambeth Council had considered her and her family's needs.

The council said it acknowledged the ombudsman's findings.

The mother of three, known as Ms X, moved into the temporary accommodation, a maisonette in an unspecified outer London borough, in February 2023.

The two children, who also remain anonymous, had to stay at a residential school for children with physical and special educational needs, which is outside of London but near to their mother's temporary accommodation.

However, they were then unable to stay with Ms X for short breaks during the weekends and school holidays because they could not get in the maisonette.

Ms X asked the council to review the suitability of the temporary accommodation in February 2023, but the LGO said the council had failed to respond to the request.

A housing needs assessment for the family sent to the LGO by Lambeth, as part of its investigation in March, incorrectly said the two eldest children were not living with Ms X because they were in hospital.

The LGO described the assessment as "inadequate" and ordered the council to review and correct it.

The report added there was no evidence Lambeth considered, or responded to, serious concerns raised by the children's social worker in December 2023 regarding the emotional impact the separation was having on the siblings.

The council was ordered to pay Ms X £350 per month backdated to February 2023 until it rehouses her in suitable accommodation, as well as a £3,000 lump sum to recognise the harm caused to the two children.

Lambeth must also pay the woman £4,750 for avoidable financial losses due to storage costs she has incurred and £250 per month for storage expenses going forward, until she is rehoused in a suitable property.

A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: "We acknowledge the findings of the ombudsman and have agreed to carry out the recommended actions."

The council also agreed to apologise to Ms X.

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