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A mother fleeing domestic abuse with her children had to live in accommodation, provided by Tower Hamlets council, that was so unsuitable her eldest child, who is disabled, regularly soiled themselves because they were scared of using the shared bathroom, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has heard.

The mother, who has mental and physical health issues, moved to a refuge in Tower Hamlets from another part of the UK because she had family living in the borough. She approached the council as homeless and asked for help.

The mother told officers she was concerned that she would be placed outside the council area. She said one of her children, who has mobility issues due to a health condition, and suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder, had only just returned to school after three years out of education. She told the officer that stress in her child often leads to incontinence.

However, the council told the mother there was nothing available locally and the only accommodation it had was in Kent. The mother understood this to mean the council had no accommodation available for her so she decided to sofa surf with family for 10 days before moving to interim bed and breakfast accommodation provided by the council outside the area.

The following month the mother told the council about the impact the B&B was having on her child, who was anxious about using the shared facilities, and had nowhere to do their homework. The council said there was nothing else available.

Later, the mother told the council her child was soiling themselves because they were so afraid to use the shared bathrooms. A social worker from a different borough told Tower Hamlets the accommodation was not suitable because of the family’s vulnerability, and that it was detrimental to their mental and physical health.

The family was moved to a one-bedroom flat in December 2022, but the mother complained they were overcrowded and had inadequate heating and hot water. The mother and eldest child struggled to wash properly because of their disabilities, and often had to resort to using a jug and bucket to try to keep clean. The family were not able to share a bedroom because of the age and gender of the children and because the mother and one of the children suffered from regular, distressing nightmares. The mother said she had to sleep on the kitchen floor so one child could sleep in the bedroom and another in the living room.

The council finally found the family alternative temporary accommodation in June 2024.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found fault with the council for not keeping detailed records of the mother’s case, and for not offering suitable interim accommodation to the mother and her children when she approached it as homeless.

When she was provided with interim accommodation, she was there for more than nine weeks, when the law says B&B accommodation for families should be a last resort, and even then, only for a maximum stay of six weeks. The Ombudsman found no evidence the council considered whether this was suitable for the family, or that it reviewed the situation when the mother raised her concerns.

The Ombudsman found fault with the way the council assessed the suitability of the flat the family was then offered. The mother was also not told about her right to ask for a review.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal said:

“I can find no evidence the council considered the massive impact placing a vulnerable family with a history of PTSD from domestic abuse in mixed-sex shared accommodation would have.

“The distress the child must have felt – at their age – of suffering incontinence because of their fear of using the shared bathrooms is palpable given the degrading and appalling circumstances they were in.

“The council must improve the way it assesses risk and suitability of accommodation as a matter of urgency to prevent other vulnerable people being placed in such awful situations.

“As part of my investigation the council told me it had a backlog of cases awaiting a review decision. I have asked it to remedy other people who may have been similarly affected by what has happened in this case.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the mother and pay the family £5,000 for the time they spent in unsuitable accommodation and for the distress caused. It will also pay the daughter a further £1,500 for her distress and indignity.

It will also apologise and pay £200 to each of the other eight people identified during the investigation whose reviews were delayed, and consider whether there is any further injustice to those people following the outcome of their reviews.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will share a summary of the report with relevant officers to ensure lessons are learned.

It will also make a number of other changes to its processes to ensure others are not similarly affected.

Related Content : London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 012 133)