South Gloucestershire Council turned away a domestic abuse survivor and her young children when they urgently needed help, after fundamentally misapplying the law designed to protect victims, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The mother fled domestic abuse in 2023 and moved with her child to a refuge. When told she would need to leave the refuge, she approached South Gloucestershire Council for homelessness help. Despite a formal risk assessment showing she faced severe and escalating danger, the council refused to help because she did not have a local connection to the area.

The council considered whether the mother could live in a different area near her family. This was despite being told the mother had applied for a non-molestation order against her former partner who had travelled there to try to find her.

South Gloucestershire then referred the mother back to the area she had fled, telling her she would be safe if housed "three miles" from unsafe addresses, without any basis in law or guidance for this approach.

When the mother's support worker repeatedly challenged the council's decisions, citing the relevant law and the Government's own Homelessness Code of Guidance, the council dismissed the challenges and insisted the guidance did not apply.

The council then closed the mother's case without resolving her housing situation, leaving her with no accommodation and no clear way of getting help.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

"This vulnerable family sought help from South Gloucestershire Council and the risks she faced were clearly documented. Yet the council turned her away, sent her back towards danger, and then simply closed her file.

“What concerns me most is that these decisions were not made in error by a single officer acting alone. They were made and maintained with managerial awareness, in the face of accurate challenge. That suggests this is not about one bad decision, it may reflect a wider misapplication of the law that could be affecting other domestic abuse survivors right now, in South Gloucestershire and potentially elsewhere.

"No victim of domestic abuse should face the prospect of being referred back to the area they fled. The law is clear on this and councils must understand and follow it.

"I am pleased that South Gloucestershire Council has accepted our recommendations and taken steps to put things right for this family. Its commitment to train housing staff should hopefully ensure that no other family is let down in this way.

"This case should serve as a wake-up call for every council in the country. Getting this wrong does not just cause distress. It puts lives at risk."

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the mother and pay her £1,000 in recognition of the significant distress caused.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to provide training or guidance to housing staff to ensure they understand their duties to people at risk of domestic abuse.

Mon, 25/05/2026 - 12:00

Since March, we have published 31 decisions of full investigations.

52% of our recently published investigations show evidence of poor complaints handling. These issues can have fundamental, negative impacts on complainants’ lives and wellbeing.

In one case published this month (202401974), a family made life changing decisions based on uncertainties around a potentially terminal cancer diagnosis. They then had to go through a lengthy complaints process, adding unnecessary strain at a deeply distressing time, despite clear opportunities to identify failings much earlier.

These cases demonstrate both the severity and breadth of the issues we handle, with findings ranging from misdiagnosis and delays in healthcare to the administrative handling of benefit payments.

In another case (202401604), we found failings in how Midlothian Council managed the end of an adoptive placement due to irreconcilable behavioural difficulties and a breakdown in the relationship. The findings included weaknesses in the accuracy of assessment reports, information sharing between authorities, and the involvement of the adoptive parent in ongoing care planning.

Our recommendations focused on improving decision making and governance, including ensuring that reports are balanced, evidence-based, and fully reflect all relevant information, and that clear processes are in place for case transfer, independent oversight, and post-placement review.
 

This case highlights the role our work plays in improving how services make and record decisions affecting vulnerable children, helping to ensure greater transparency, accountability, and better outcomes in future.

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The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has raised concerns about the support provided to Hounslow children with special educational needs who are schooled out of borough after two complaints were upheld in quick succession.

In one case, a primary school girl with autism and complex special educational needs, whose Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan said she needed speech and language and occupational therapies, received neither for two full school terms.

Throughout the family’s complaint, the council never made it clear that it had a legal duty to ensure the girl gets the therapy she needed in her current school. The family thought she could only get therapy provision if she moved to a school within the council’s area.

The lack of information and advice from the council led the family to decide that moving their daughter was the only way she could receive the therapy she needed. The move led to the girl, who had been happy and settled at her original school, showing behaviours that her family had never seen before.

Having realised that moving their daughter to a different school was a mistake, the family appealed. By that point, her original, out-of-borough school place had been given to another child. In the end, the girl will be returning to her first school from September 2026.

The Ombudsman has also found the same gap in provision in another recent complaint about Hounslow council. The law is clear: if a child's support plan says they need therapy, the council must make sure they get it, no matter which school they attend. Hounslow council has not been meeting this basic legal responsibility.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

"This case is a stark reminder of what can go wrong when a council loses sight of its responsibilities to children educated outside its boundaries. A child with complex special educational needs missed vital therapy provision for two whole terms, not because it could not be arranged, but because the council did not have the right systems in place to make it happen.

"I want every council in the country to look at this case and ask whether they are confident they have proper oversight of the children in their area who are educated in out-of-area placements. Are the right arrangements in place? Do staff understand the council's legal duties? Are there systems to check that provision is actually being delivered?

"Children with SEND are amongst the most vulnerable in our communities, and the impact of getting this wrong, on their development, their wellbeing, and their families, can be profound and long-lasting. Effective scrutiny and oversight of local SEND services is not a bureaucratic exercise; it is how councils make sure every child gets the education they are entitled to."

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council should apologise to the family and pay them £1,700.

Article date: 14 May 2026