Man underpaid £100,000 after supported housing mix-up

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

A 42-year-old man with learning difficulties was underpaid more than £100,000 over five years in disability payments when he moved into supported housing because of a council error, it has emerged.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) criticised Bradford Council because it provided the wrong information to the DWP’s Independent Living Fund (ILF) – which provides financial support to disabled people.

The LGO found the council informed the ILF the man was going into residential care – when he was in fact moving into supported housing in 2001 - which meant he lost £180 per week in ILF payments.

The error came about largely because of the persistence of the man's brother who for five years had written complaints about the stopped ILF payments. The council claimed the move into “residential care” was discussed with the family, which they denied. It later transpired the accommodation was "never or had never been registered as residential care".

The payments were only reinstated in 2006 when the accommodation was transferred to a social landlord who awarded the man with a tenancy which the ILF insists upon.

It was only in March 2008 when the council accepted the complaint but failed to recommend remedies for the injustice.

As a result of the payment error the ombudsman said the man lost the opportunity to take part in many social activities he had previously enjoyed – such as going to a swimming club, to an evening disco every week, and frequent trips to the seaside – because of the loss of his ILF payments.

The council has agreed to pay the man the lost sum and has also agreed to pay his brother £5,000 to recognise the “extraordinary lengths" he had to go to in pursuing justice for his brother.

The ombudsman also recommends the council should apologise to both brothers.