A family with a disabled child had to live in an unsafe flat for a year and a half longer than they should have, an investigation has found.
Manchester City Council placed the mother and her two sons in the two-bedroom temporary accommodation after they became homeless.
But the mother informed the council that the property was unsuitable as she had to sleep in the same room as her son and got very little sleep due to his medical needs, while the stairs made the property unsafe for him.
The council agreed the property was unsuitable and made offers of other accommodation, but ultimately agreed that none were appropriate.
Manchester eventually found a more suitable property following a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Ombudsman Amerdeep Somal said the delay ‘had a significant and detrimental effect on the family’, with the son ‘at constant risk of injury from using the stairs.’
A Manchester City Council spokesperson accepted the authority’s ‘shortcomings’ and said it was working hard to house people in suitable accommodation after they had become homeless.
The spokesperson added: ‘This effort is taking place in a challenging national context, with high numbers of people with complex needs presenting as homelessness, a strained housing market and a scarcity of suitable available accommodation after 14 years of austerity, benefit changes and other policies which had stoked the issue under the previous government.’
