Child at risk of gang violence because of council failings

A four-year-old child was placed at risk of gang violence because of failings by Croydon council, the ombudsman has ruled.

The local government and social care ombudsman said the council did not do enough to check on the child and its mother when their uncle was released from prison and allowed to live with them.

This was despite him being at risk of gang-related violence, and having received threats before at gunpoint. The mother also gave up the second year of her university course to ensure her brother was safe.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council had not done enough to fully acknowledge or remedy the distress caused by its actions. It also criticised the way the council handled aspects of the woman’s complaint.

Ombudsman Michael King said: ’The young woman at the centre of this case has told me how she lived in fear during the time her brother lived with her, with the very credible risk of him and her home being targeted by violent gangs. She felt she had to give up her university course to keep the household safe.

'Despite this, the council could not show any evidence it had looked into the risk this posed to the woman’s young child, who was only four years old at the time.’

The council has agreed to pay £9,250 plus any interest to the Student Finance Company to recognise the impact on the woman’s university studies and the debt she incurred.

It will also pay her £1,000 to recognise the significant distress she suffered while living in unaffordable accommodation and for the credible fear she endured while providing an unregulated placement for her brother.

The council has also agreed to pay her £300 to recognise the avoidable time and trouble she experienced during the complaints process.