Westminster Council to compensate residents left in temporary accommodation

Westminster City Council is to pay £69k in compensation to people left in unsuitable temporary accommodation (TA) and to a child who temporarily missed out on an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

The council said it will pay 19 individuals in TA a total of £66,250, averaging £3,487 per person, according to a council report. Separately, £2,350 will be paid to a woman after a child missed out on EHCP.

Because the payments are above £2,000, the council needs the permission of its General Purposes Committee to dispense the cash.

Westminster City said the 19 “service users” complained about their extended stay in hotel accommodation lacking self-contained facilities. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) says households can remain in unsuitable TA for a maximum of six weeks, when no other accommodation is available.

According to the ombudsman, these households should receive weekly payments between £100 and £200 for each week they stayed in an unsuitable Bed and Breakfast (B&B) beyond the point where they should have been moved. Westminster City said it will take this payment to families whose stay was beyond the six-week limit.

The council said going forward it aims to reduce the use of B&B accommodation. It is also spending £300mn to buy new TA and is considering new ways to deliver “bulk leasing opportunities”.

It will also boost funding to increase capacity in the council’s housing services. Westminster City said an “unprecedented” demand for TA has led to more families being placed in B&Bs, with many households remaining in unsuitable space beyond the six-week legal limit.

The council said the number of homeless applications has more than doubled in three years and that in September, there were 4,416 households in temporary accommodation.

In a separate case, a woman, known only as Miss X, will be paid £2,350 after children services failed to develop an EHCP for a child in her care referred to as Y. Miss X complained to the council in October 2024 about a delay in receiving a child’s EHCP, as well as a breakdown in communication.

The council said there had been an “unsatisfactory” level of communication and offered her £200 in compensation.

Miss X complained to the LGSCO in February and in July the watchdog found Westminster City at fault for a delay in obtaining the child’s EHCP plan, which left Y with no educational support for a number of months. Westminster City was ordered to apologise and pay the woman £2,350, which includes for distress caused to her.

Westminster City Council, General Purposes Committee, Wednesday 22 October 2025.

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