“The inquest was told that Tobias had sought and had been referred for mental health…”

The coroner’s concerns

– 1. The inquest was told that Tobias had sought and had been referred for mental health support however due to the high demand and long waiting lists 2 he was still on a waiting list at the time of his death. The evidence before the inquest was that long delays were still an issue and were not restricted to Tameside but were part of a national picture of delays and long waiting lists for those seeking help with their mental health. 2. The inquest also heard evidence of the impact of homelessness and consequential vulnerability on a young person like Tobias and that the demands on Local Authorities meant that even where vulnerability was recognised there were not resources to offer sustained support and stable housing solutions. The evidence was that as a consequence young vulnerable people had to rely on homeless shelters where they were exposed to additional negative influences and as in Tobias’s case abuse due to their sexuality. 3. Evidence was also heard that a person who has to rely on a homeless shelter can then become uncontactable to public service providers as they have no address for contact which means they then have even less chance of accessing support. 4. The inquest was told that young adults who are homeless are often sexually exploited and that those who identify as LGBTQIA can be particularly vulnerable and that the underlying vulnerability and risk was not always appreciated by those dealing with young homeless people and that it could be mistaken by agencies as a lifestyle choice rather than what it actually was, i.e., exploitation by an older adult. 5. The evidence before the inquest was that where multiple agencies were involved it was fundamental that one agency/person took overall ownership/responsibility to ensure a coordinated and effective approach using regular MDTs to understand the information that all agencies had in their possession and to offer effective support.

An extract. Read the full report, including the circumstances of the death, on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

Source

judiciary.uk, Prevention of Future Deaths reports, 2024-0143

Added to Minute Book

8 Oct 2026

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, judiciary.uk. Open Government Licence v3.0