Two west London councils failed to work together effectively to support a woman at risk of domestic violence, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has found.

The woman had asked Brent LBC to help her move away from the area due to serious threats from her ex-partner.

However, despite having a reciprocal agreement in place with six neighbouring authorities to re-house tenants who are victims of domestic abuse, the ombudsman said the council ‘inappropriately' spent several months looking into a managed move within the borough.

When the case was finally passed on to Ealing LBC it then took 11 weeks to process her application instead of the agreed five working days, which stopped other authorities from accepting her case.

LGO Dr Jane Martin said: ‘When people are particularly vulnerable, it is all the more important that organisations work together effectively to remove them from possible harm.' 

The LGO said Brent had subsequently retrained frontline staff about its domestic violence procedure while Ealing had arranged for a designated officer to act as a central point for all referrals made under the reciprocal scheme.