Can social make this an issue?

[StudioMudio]

Social services were originally involved due to DV. Resolved for months as have been single for months. Ex had supervised contact.

No concerns re my parenting.

Social worker has raised accommodation as an issue, she states it is unsuitable for my 5 year old and it's too small and not good for her development.

I privately rent but UC pay all my rent. I am in the Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity group. I am in the Council register for housing but do not have enough points to secure anywhere ATM.

She has made an application on my behalf to the council to move me saying I am overcrowded.

The council have said that my studio of 19.2 square metres is not overcrowded for one adult and one child.

"The size of the accommodation is 19.2 square meters, which is 206 square feet. This room size is suitable for one adult and one child under the age of ten under the Space Standard. The space standard is based on the maximum number of people who may sleep in a dwelling of a particular size. The number of people permitted to reside in a room under 110 square feet is 2 and you and your child would be counted as 1.5 people. When considering this, we also take into account “local housing conditions”, and your housing situation is not unusual for the area in which you reside. "

They have essentially said that the property is suitable for our needs.

Can the social worker still take issue with where we live?

To put it into perspective, under council regulations, under 1s don't count towards overcrowding, so I could technically have another baby (I wouldn't) and still not be overcrowded. Even with two children in the house under 10, we would only officially count as 2 people, and two people are permitted to live in a property that is even smaller than mine.

How do social workers and the council have such different ideas about what is OK re housing?

Surely she can't use it against me to keep the case open when everything else is fine (Child in Need)? She has been mentioning closing the case soon the past two CIN meetings we have had.

She certainly shouldn't. Do you live somewhere without a housing crisis?? I'm a social worker in the south east and sadly our families are often in tiny, overcrowded and unsuitable housing which is entirely not their fault. If housing have told you that you aren't overcrowded there is literally zero you can do about it.

Did your social worker flag it up so you could be prioritized for new housing?

Do you live somewhere without a housing crisis??

I am in North London

Did your social worker flag it up so you could be prioritized for new housing?

If that was the reason, it wasn't mentioned to me and hasn't been discussed in any of the correspondence I've had with the Council.

I have been on CIN for 9 months, and she keeps talking about closing it as parenting has no concerns, school always give good reports on my child, supervised contact with father is going well, no risk posed to him and my daughter etc etc.

So the only thing she has been talking about recently is housing.

I'd imagine she is probably just trying to help you out the best she can with housing before she closes the case. Hopefully her input manages to push you up the list

That would be my thought as well, that she was hoping her intervention would help you with housing.
I've certainly seen it happen with an overcrowded family getting a property much more quickly as their banding was changed.

In your situation though, it doesn't sound like this is going to happen. Could you ask for support to move somewhere slightly larger if they're that concerned? Even a 1 bed with a separate lounge and kitchen would be better than a studio for the two of you.

Absolutely not. What are you expected to do? The sw can only write a letter of support re a move. If the size of the house is the only issue then you do not need to worry