Service improvements

Ashford Borough Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 1 - 2 of 2 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Ashford Borough Council as a CSV file.

  • Ashford Borough Council (23 003 079)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 19-Oct-2023

    Summary

    Mrs K complained about the behaviour of her neighbour. There was no fault in how the Council investigated her complaints from a planning control and statutory nuisance perspective. However, the Council did not fully consider its role to investigate antisocial behaviour, and it wrongly refused Mrs K’s requests for an ASB review. The Council has agreed to take action to put matters right.

    Service improvements

    Share this decision, and the Ombudsman’s focus report ‘Out of Order: learning lessons from complaints about antisocial behaviour’ with relevant staff.Review its policies on Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) and the ASB case review, as well as the information published online, to make sure these accord with each other and with the law and statutory guidance, (particularly with regard to the threshold for the ASB case review and how these are conducted, and with regard to how the Council considers its powers fully).Share the new policy and published information with staff so that they are clear on the Council’s responsibilities and processes.

  • Ashford Borough Council (23 000 890)

    Category: Housing Date: 17-Jul-2023

    Summary

    There was fault in the Council’s handling of Ms X’s application to the housing register and her homelessness. This caused Ms X avoidable distress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Ms X and act to improve its services.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff to ask applicants to the housing register for supporting evidence if this is necessary to assess their priority properly.The Council has agreed to ensure all homeless applicants who tell the Council about experiences of domestic abuse are given the option to meet with an officer of the same sex.The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff that a valid notice seeking possession of a private tenancy should not automatically lead the Council to accept a prevention duty where other circumstances, including domestic abuse, indicate the applicant is homeless and owed the relief duty.The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff, with training or guidance as needed, that Personalised Housing Plans should:a. be provided to applicants owed a duty as soon as possible after assessment; b. be kept under review; andc. contain meaningful steps for both the Council and the applicant to take.

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