Cornish boy left without proper education for year because of lack of joined-up approach by council A Cornish boy with special educational needs, who was excluded from his primary school because of behavioural problems, missed out on full-time education for 12 months, a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation has found. The Ombudsman’s investigation found Cornwall Council did not ...

Ombudsman finds multiple failures with Richmond children’s services provider The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has strongly criticised Richmond council’s children’s service provider, Achieving for Children, for not effectively supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The Ombudsman has uncovered evidence of children missing out on support and educati ...

County council failed to meet man’s needs, leaving him to pay for some of his own care Hampshire County Council has been criticised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after it failed to meet an elderly man’s needs when his finances ran short. The man, who has dementia, had initially paid for the care he received in his home. But, in Spring 2019, when a relative alerted the council ...

Norfolk council agrees to rigorous scrutiny of services for children with Special Educational Needs Councillors in Norfolk will be provided with regular detailed analysis of the county council’s special educational needs services following a critical Ombudsman report. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman was asked to investigate, for a second time, the support Norfolk County Council pro ...

Ombudsman issues third critical report about Birmingham’s bin collections The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is again having to report on Birmingham’s waste collection services after the council had made assurances things would improve. The most recent report concerns three residents in different parts of the city, who had all been receiving assisted collections – where crews collect ...

Council did not do enough to help woman abused by neighbour A Luton woman was verbally abused and harassed by her neighbours – and her local council did not do enough when she called on it to help, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found. The woman, who lives alone in her privately-owned home, is vulnerable because of her age and chronic medical conditions, which affect both her ...

Lancashire family left in overcrowded conditions for more than a decade A Lancashire mother of three, who also took on the care of her two grandchildren, had to sleep on a mattress in her living room for more than 10 years because the county council did not deliver the support it had agreed to. The woman, who already had young children living with her in a small three-bedroomed terraced house, wa ...

Council delays leave disabled woman in unsuitable temporary accommodation for too long A disabled woman, who had previously been sleeping rough in an airport, spent too long in temporary fourth floor accommodation provided by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found. The woman, who had previously had a stroke, had been diagnosed with se ...

Croydon woman’s back broken by home-help device when council withdrew care funding A Croydon woman fractured her spine using a bed turning aid the NHS installed. The council thought this could replace paid care workers for overnight care, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found. Croydon council withdrew funding for the woman’s night-time care. The NHS instead installed a turning ...

Birmingham City council to refund 11 years of care home fees family paid in error Birmingham City Council will repay a city family more than 11 years of care home fees after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found the family should never have been charged. The Ombudsman was asked to step in after the family complained to the council that they were asked to pay a so-called ‘top-up’ fe ...