A homeless mother was separated from her family, sectioned and sent to psychiatric hospital, whilst her children were sent to live with her estranged, abusive partner.

This is just one of three complaints I’ve lodged complaints against Northampton Borough Council, Northamptonshire County Council and Northamptonshire Police over the treatment they’ve meted out to the woman and her three children.

The treatment of the woman, who left her home with her children due to domestic abuse, was about the most heartless I have ever seen. It came as the Tory Government was trumpeting its commitment to improving support for domestic abuse victims.

The complaints covered a number of serious failings by the public authorities, including:

• When the woman was made homeless, social services oversaw her children, including a six month old baby, being taken away from her and sent back to her abusive, estranged partner.
• The Police took her in a police car to a psychiatric hospital under a section of the mental health act. She was seen and discharged next day be psychiatrists who said she wasn’t mentally-ill, just homeless.
• Northampton Borough Council first housed her and then evicted her, sending bailiffs round who threw her and her children, including the little baby out on the streets.

These are just a few of the very serious shortcomings in the way this woman and her children were treated.

I’ve never come across mothers and babies being forcibly separated before due to homelessness. Neither have I encountered women being taken to psychiatric hospital for being homeless. These are really serious shortcomings by the local authorities and it is essential that remedial action is taken to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.