Case Ref: 23 013 038 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• In a previous complaint Reference 23004841 the Council has agreed to take action to improve services when providing alternative education and improving timescales for completing EHC plans. I do not intend to repeat these actions but in addition the Council has agreed to:-a) provide evidence of the steps it is taking to address the delays in getting Educational Psychologist assessments;
• b) set out what steps/policy changes it is making to address communication with other local authorities where a child is attending an out of area school; and
• c) review why there was a delay in responding at Stage 2 of this complaint and take action to address any lessons learnt from the review.

Case Ref: 23 004 887 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide an update on progress with the service recommendations to improve the Council's processes.:

Case Ref: 22 009 742 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council will ensure it has guidance in place for its staff to follow regarding the reasonable adjustment set out in the Equality Act 2010. It will provide training or a reminder to its staff as necessary.
• The Council will provide us with a copy of the agreed Section 117 aftercare policy and procedure document it has finalised with health colleagues.

Case Ref: 23 007 949 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to review how staff record assessments for domestic abuse when completing homelessness applications.
• The Council has agreed to remind staff that where assessments for domestic abuse are being carried out, staff should be referring to the guidance and recommended risk assessments.
• The Council has agreed to provide housing staff training on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, including the definition of domestic abuse and ensure this is referenced in the Council’s homelessness policy

Case Ref: 23 005 761 Category: Education Sub Category: Other

• Remind staff involved in social care complaints which social care functions should be considered under the children’s statutory complaints procedure and give them a copy of the Ombudsman’s ‘children’s statutory complaints process guide for practitioners’.

Case Ref: 23 004 841 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council has agreed to review its policies and procedures to ensure it retains oversight and responsibility for its duties to children unable to attend school.
• The Council has agreed to provide training or guidance to all relevant staff on the Council’s and school’s duties when a child is unable to attend school and on the EHC process timescales. This will include the timescales which apply when the Council initially refuses to carry out an assessment but then decides to assess after the parent exercises their right to mediation or appeal. The Council will also ensure staff record the reasons for refusing to carry out EHC assessments.
• The Council has agreed to finish developing its EOTAS policy if it has not already done so.
• The Council has agreed to publish its communications policy on its website, if it has not already done so.
• The Council has agreed to provide an update on the progress which the EBSA working group is making towards developing a clear pathway for Emotionally Based School Avoidance.

Case Ref: 23 004 447 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to consider whether it can streamline the assessment process where repeat visits and requests are made by the same person;
• The Council has agreed to ensure family members and carers are adequately consulted and their views properly balanced where conflicting evidence is given.
• The Council has agreed to ensure that decisions are given to service-users and their family members/carers in writing with reasons and that full records are kept of the decision-making process.
• The Council has agreed to review its complaints process and consider introducing a checking mechanism to ensure thorough responses are provided within a reasonable timescale.

Case Ref: 23 004 239 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to remind staff of the importance of communicating decisions in writing, as not to delay appeal rights to the tribunal.
• The Council has agreed to provide training to complaint handling staff about the scope of the SEND tribunal and how to respond to complaints where parts of the complaint are appealable to the tribunal.

Case Ref: 22 016 330 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council agreed to undertake a review of 79 decisions it took to refuse businesses payments from the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme to support businesses impacted by COVID-19, following the January 2022 funding round (which closed in March 2022). This was to consider if any other businesses were wrongly refused grants because they were not trading in 2019.If any were identified and the business was still trading, the Council agreed to either make a payment equivalent to the grant award it should have paid at the time, or request any such further evidence it should have asked for at the time to consider making such a payment (and to give any business affected 20 working days to provide this).
• The Council also agreed to consider all cases where it received an expression of dissatisfaction from a business following the January 2022 Additional Restriction Grant funding round. This was to check if the business received a reasoned response to their representations and / or was signposted to the Council's complaint procedure.The Council agreed to consider if any representations not properly handled at the time should have led to a reconsideration of the grant award. It would then either make a payment equivalent to the award it should have paid at the time, or request any such further evidence it should have asked for at the time to consider making such a payment (and to give any business affected 20 working days to provide this).

Case Ref: 22 015 207 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Safeguarding

• The Council agreed to review any letter templates it uses for adult safeguarding outcomes, to ensure outcome letters use language which can be understood by both professionals and members of the public.
• The Council agreed to share our final decision with relevant adult safeguarding staff to ensure they are aware of the Ombudsman’s findings in this case. It should ensure staff are aware of the Council’s learning points from our decision and the importance when investigating adult safeguarding issues of:gathering accurate and relevant information;properly considering evidence;clear and accurate record-keeping, including recording decision reasons;keeping to timescales, monitoring delays, and keeping the subject of the concern and/or their representative(s) informed;communicating outcomes to the subject and/or their representative(s); and telling people how to make a complaint via the Council’s complaints procedure where they are raising concerns it considers to be about the quality of Council-commissioned care, rather than safeguarding issues.
• The Council agreed to issue a reminder to relevant quality staff that where people raise concerns about the quality of Council-commissioned care they should be told how to make a complaint via the Council’s complaints procedure.