North Kesteven District Council has issued an apology after failing to promptly install vital security measures in the home of a domestic abuse victim.
The woman who escaped an abusive relationship had approached the council to fix a broken patio door lock in her home, but suffered six months of perpetual fear as the target hardening works were continuously delayed.
A council spokesperson said: ‘The council aims to have the recommended works completed as soon as possible; however, this is reliant on contractor availability and occasionally works may fall out of the preferred timescales. […] On this occasion we found timescales to be unacceptable, and in recognising the impact of this apologised.’
The council-funded target hardening scheme is a household security service accessible to all members of the local community, aiming to protect those eligible for the property works and safeguard against victims needing to leave their homes.
Following the woman’s complaint against the local authority, ‘the council changed its internal processes to strengthen its support to victims by ensuring the Housing Project Officer for domestic abuse now has oversight of all target hardening cases up to the completion of works’, the council spokesperson added.
