A council has agreed to deliver the financial recommendations of the Ombudsman after its previous refusal to provide remedies.

Leicester City Council has now reversed its decisions not to pay two families that had not received the housing support they were entitled to.

Following the council’s refusal to pay £3,525 to a man and his family after they were left to live in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than is legally permitted, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman today published a Further Report urging the local authority to reconsider its decision.

According to the Ombudsman, the council was obliged to provide a formal response to the move and has now confirmed that it will pay the recommended sum, having been made aware that the Further Report would be published as part of the Ombudsman’s procedure.

Additionally, the council has agreed to pay a further £1,750 to a woman and her family who were housed in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than the law allows, after the family had fled domestic violence. The Ombudsman had published both a Report and Further Report on the case, with the council having formerly refused to pay the remedy.

Mrs Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: ‘I welcome the council’s change of position, which finally recognises the trauma these families have experienced, and I hope this may give them some closure to the issues.

‘The combined total of £5,275 is a modest acknowledgement of what the families experienced. As we have previously stated, all our recommendations are based on the particular injustices found in each case – we don’t punish councils or set precedents for other investigations.’

A city council spokesperson said: ‘We stand by our position that a national homelessness crisis and 14 years of Government cuts have significantly impacted councils’ ability to meet requirements based on legislation that is more than 20 years old.

‘Following clarification from the Ombudsman that these payments will not set a wider precedent affecting council finances, we have accepted its recommendations in these two cases.’