West Northamptonshire Council
West Northamptonshire Council is a merger of several councils and the historical information for these are located from the following links.
Daventry District Council
Northampton Borough Council
South Northamptonshire District Council
Northamptonshire County Council
Annual statistics ?Find out more about annual statistics
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Complaints upheld
84% Complaints upheld by West Northamptonshire Council
84% of complaints we investigated were upheld.
This compares to an average of 79% in similar authorities.
21 upheld decisions
View upheld decisionsAdjusted for West Northamptonshire Council's population, this is
4.9 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.The average for authorities of this type is
4.6 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.Statistics are based on a total of 25 investigations for the period between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
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Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations
100% of cases were successfully implemented by West Northamptonshire Council
100% of cases we were satisfied the Council had successfully implemented our recommendations.
This compares to an average of 100% in similar authorities.
Statistics are based on a total of 23 compliance outcomes for the period between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
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Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council
5% Complaints with satisfactory remedy provided by West Northamptonshire Council
In 5% of upheld cases we found the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.
This compares to an average of 13% in similar authorities.
1 satisfactory remedy decision
Statistics are based on a total of 21 upheld decisions for the period between 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
View all satisfactory remedy decisions
Annual letters
We write to councils each year to give a summary of the complaint statistics we record about them,
and their performance in responding to our investigations.
Reports ?Find out more about reports
In the last nine years, the Ombudsman has published the following reports against West Northamptonshire Council
West Northamptonshire failed to provide education for numerous children with SEND
West Northamptonshire Council has agreed to review the cases of eight children with Special Educational Needs, who have been out of school for long periods, following an Ombudsman investigation.
Service improvements ?Find out more about service improvements
Since April 2018, the Council has agreed to make the following improvements to its services following an Ombudsman investigation. We list up to 10 cases below – click ‘view all’ if there are more.
Case reference: 24 008 783
Category: Housing
Sub Category: Homelessness
- The Council has agreed to provide further training for housing and homelessness staff on identifying and carrying out homelessness applications, paying particular attention to when there may be reason to believe an applicant is in priority need.
- The Council has also agreed to circulate this investigation, Mr X’s previous investigation, and the lessons learnt to housing and homelessness managers and team leaders.
Case reference: 24 007 298
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council has agreed to provide training to staff about identifying when a child is failing to access a suitable education and what steps the Council should take to detail its consideration of this access to education and how it proposes to address this. The Council should refer to the guidance Out of school out of sight? Published in July 2022 to inform this training.
Case reference: 24 006 290
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will remind staff in its Special Educational Needs and Disability Serviceto ensure,thestatutory timescales for the Education, Health and Care Plan process followingannual reviews are always adhered to.
- The Council will remind staff in its Special Educational Needs and Disability Service toensure, requests from parents areresponded to in a timely manner. This is to ensure effective communication withthose involved and to avoid unnecessary delays and distress in the process.
Case reference: 23 018 294
Category: Planning
Sub Category: Enforcement
- The Council will remind its planning enforcement staff of the importance of responding to public enquiries and keeping the public updated on any enforcement investigations in a timely manner.
Case reference: 23 017 934
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will provide us with a written report of its progress in reducing the backlog of delayed Education, Health and Care Plans.
Case reference: 23 017 013
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Charging
- The Council has agreed to:a) review the published guidance and the Council’s policy on Deferred Payment Agreements so that they are consistent;
- b) remind relevant staff members of the guidance, their discretionary powers and preventative duties;
- c) through a staff circular or team meeting remind staff about the need to communicate financial decisions promptly, clearly and in writing. This includes any dates or decisions;
- d) through a staff circular or team meeting remind staff about setting out how they have reached financial decisions including how they have made calculations;
- e) remind staff about the need to respond to complaints in a timely manner.
Case reference: 23 016 921
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council has agreed to review its procedure for amending EHC Plans following reviews (annual and emergency) to ensure any changes are made and a final EHC plan issued within a reasonable period of time (ideally in the region of 8 to 12 weeks from the review).
- The Council has agreed to offer training and/or guidance to all relevant staff on the requirement to consider alternative educational provision for children out of school for longer than 15 days due to illness, exclusion or otherwise
Case reference: 23 015 382
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will provide training to its Special Educational Needs staff to ensure they understand the legal framework, the Council's obligations to complete the Educational, Health and Care needs assessment within the statutory timeframe, and when timeframe exemptions apply.
Case reference: 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 reference: 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.:
Last updated: 4 April 2015