Council slammed for housing vulnerable teenager in a tent
Joe Lepper
Thursday, November 1, 2018
A council has been criticised for housing a homeless teenager with a history of drug abuse and mental health problems in a tent.
A report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has revealed a raft of failures by Cornwall Council in its support for the homeless 17-year-old, whose ordeal left him emaciated and resulted in him being detained in a psychiatric hospital for nearly a year.
The boy became homeless during the summer of 2016 after being arrested for drug dealing, was banned from returning to live with his father and then evicted from supported accommodation.
After refusing another offer of supported accommodation 30 miles away, a social worker bought him a tent to live in and even helped him pitch it.
He lived in the tent for five weeks, during which time the boy asked for accommodation a number of times. The boy's mother, who lives away from Cornwall, also challenged the decision to house him in a tent.
During this period the boy (referred to as Mr B) was found by the fire service in an abandoned building after setting fire to a mattress to keep warm. Fire crew took him back to his camp site and helped him pitch his tent.
After this incident social workers sent a referral to housing officers noting their concerns about his vulnerability but that his options for support were reliant on him making changes in his life.
The referral stated: "[Mr B] is extremely vulnerable on the streets and has been associating with a known sexual offender and [Mr B] is also vulnerable to unsavoury characters in the streets, particularly as he has a history of cannabis use."
It added: "Although at the moment his options with the [local authority] are limited due to his behaviours, if he can evidence he wants to make some changes then his options would increase."
He was also bought a new tent by the council after the first one started leaking, then housed in a static caravan for four weeks. During this time he reported being sexually assaulted by a man in a car, but the ombudsman could find no evidence that the council had considered taking any action to safeguard him.
None of the six council officers interviewed thought it was inappropriate to house a homeless teenager in a static caravan.
Following a move to bed and breakfast accommodation and supported accommodation he was detained under the Mental Health Act for 11 months.
Government guidance and the ombudsman say that bed and breakfast accommodation is never suitable for children. The ombudsman adds that while static caravans are more robust than tents they are "also never to be suitable for homeless young people".
The ombudsman has ordered the council to pay the boy £2,500 due to its failures contributing to his declining mental health and placing him at risk of harm. The council is also ordered to pay his mother £1,500 for the distress his ordeal caused her.
The ombudsman has recommended the council review how it deals with housing 16- and 17-year-olds, in particular whether young people are able to make rational decisions regarding their housing.
An action plan to ensure there is enough accommodation across the county for homeless young people should also be drafted.
The report details how council staff believed housing the boy in a tent was the only option due to lack of housing.
"A youth homelessness officer emailed the housing department on 13 September 2016 to say the static caravan was not an option with winter approaching," states the report.
"At interview, she told us the council would not have placed Mr B in a tent in an ideal world, but the council had had "no other bricks and mortar option".
In addition, the council needs to improve safeguarding training for council staff working with homeless young people, said the ombudsman.
"There is a long list of failures in this case which had dreadful consequences for the boy," said local government and social care ombudsman Michael King.
"But the starkest, and most worrying, element is the attitude shown towards his situation. I would have expected an unequivocal response that it was simply wrong to accommodate the boy in this manner."
Cornwall Council said it accepts there were "several shortfalls" in the way it dealt with the boy's case and has apologised to both him and his mother.
"Although this was a unique and exceptional case, we will learn from it and do everything we can to prevent it ever happening again," said a council statement.
"A great deal has been done since 2016 to develop a range of housing options for homeless young people."