The Local Government Ombudsman has called Havering LBC's failure to renew a premises licence ‘wholly avoidable'. The failure left 193 couples uncertain over their marriage status after an oversight regarding a council-owned building used for weddings. A High Court case found the couples were legally married, but recognising the distress of having doubt cast on the validity of their marriages, the Ombudsman recommended compensation of £150 per couple, a total of nearly £30,000. The council accepted their error and apologised.
