Service improvements

Birmingham City Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

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 - 10 of 44 cases with service improvements

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

  • Birmingham City Council (22 009 851)

    Category: Education Date: 22-Feb-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to reassess her daughter for an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and its delay in completing this. She also complained about missed provision and the new final EHCP. We found the Council at fault for its delay and its failure to arrange provision. We recommended the Council provide an apology, pay £300 for distress, pay £4790 for missed provision and act to improve its record keeping. We are satisfied with actions already taken to prevent delay in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council will take action to ensure it can access the casework records of staff working in its Special Educational Needs department, even after they have left employment with the Council.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 008 463)

    Category: Housing Date: 30-Nov-2022

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for the way it decided the review into Ms X’s housing register application and for the time taken to provide her with a decision. As a result, Ms X cannot be sure the Council made the correct decision and spent time and trouble pursuing the review with the Council. The Council agreed to make a payment to Ms X for the distress caused and to carry out a fresh review of Ms X’s housing application.

    Service improvements

    Provide the Ombudsman with an updated report to show what impact the measures it has taken to deal with the backlog of reviews have had.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 008 408)

    Category: Education Date: 10-Mar-2023

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council failed to provide her son, F with Education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) provision in line with his Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan following orders from the SEND tribunal in May 2022 and delayed agreeing a personal budget. The Council was at fault. It did not have a plan to start providing F with EOTAS provision following the tribunal orders and delayed agreeing a personal budget until November 2022. It meant F did not start receiving provision until January 2023. The Council has agreed to backdate F’s personal budget payments to June 2023 and pay Ms X £500 to acknowledge the distress and time and trouble caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review how it considers and deals with Education, Health and Care plan cases with the Special Education Needs and Disability tribunal. It should ensure it has processes in place to ensure it is able to start providing provision in line with any tribunal orders by the statutory timescales after an order is given.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 007 501)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 10-Jan-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council had failed to charge him in line with the advertised price when he paid for parking by phone. The Council failed to ensure its parking signs contained the correct information for all charges. The Council has agreed to apologise for Mr X, make changes to the signs to ensure they are correct and improve its complaint handling.

    Service improvements

    The Council must arrange and provide complaint handling staff with training to ensure staff provide full explanation in its responses.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 007 269)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 25-Jan-2023

    Summary

    We found fault in the way the Council handled the complainant’s (Mr X) Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) after his registration plate was cloned. This resulted in the enforcement action against Mr X, which caused him and his wife prolonged and severe distress. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and to make a payment of £500 to recognise the negative impact of the Council’s fault on Mr X and his family.

    Service improvements

    The Council will ensure all members of the staff dealing withPenalty Charge Notices and their managers review ‘Birmingham City Council Guidelines for the consideration of representations and cancellation of Penalty Charge Notices(PCNs) issued for being in a Clean Air Zone (CAZ)’ version 3. The Council will provide us with the evidence this has happened.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 006 364)

    Category: Housing Date: 26-Mar-2023

    Summary

    The Council was wrong to close Mr and Mrs B’s homelessness case, which resulted in their removal from the housing register. The Council also delayed assessing and reviewing Mr and Mrs B’s housing application and failed to properly respond to their complaints. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr and Mrs B, and take action to prevent similar failings in future.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review its procedures for closing homelessness cases due to loss of contact, to ensure it always tries to make contact with the applicant before closing the case.The Council has agreed to remind officers of the correct procedure for reopening homelessness cases, to ensure the housing team is notified when a homeless duty has been accepted.The Council has agreed to highlight this case to relevant complaints officers and take action to improve the way it responds to complaints.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 006 282)

    Category: Education Date: 15-Feb-2023

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council failed to provide her son, F with alternative provision after he stopped attending school in January 2022. The Council was at fault for failing to ensure F received a suitable education between May and November 2022. It agreed to pay Miss X a total of £1550 to acknowledge F’s loss of education and the distress and time and trouble caused to her. It also agreed to carry out service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind relevant staff that the Council has a duty to consider individual circumstances, at the time, in deciding whether it has a statutory duty to provide alternative provision for children out of school due to illness, exclusion or otherwise. The Council should ensure staff properly record the decision and the reasons for it at the time.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 005 096)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 16-Oct-2022

    Summary

    Ms X complained about how the Council decided to refuse her application for a dropped kerb. The Council was at fault in how it communicated its decision to Ms X and how it publicised its approach to dropped kerbs where there is street furniture in the way. It was not at fault in how it decided to refuse Ms X’s application. The fault caused Ms X frustration and meant she had to go to time and trouble to pursue a complaint with the Council. The Council will make a symbolic payment to Ms X, confirm it has issued its new policy on dropped kerbs and update its website.

    Service improvements

    The Council will confirm to the Ombudsman it has issued its policy on dropped kerb applications and carried out staff training on that policy.The Council will update its website to reflect its new policy on dropped kerb applications. This should include that the Council requires a clearance distance, typically 45cm, from obstructions like telephone poles. It should also include that applications for a dropped kerb may be refused if such a distance is not possible.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 003 882)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 08-Aug-2022

    Summary

    The Council failed to provide evidence of compliance with recommendations previously made by the Ombudsman within the agreed timescale. In the original complaint, we found fault with the Council for assessing Mr and Mrs C’s dropped kerb application against a draft, unpublished policy. The Council agreed to reassess their application and pay a financial remedy. The Council did not complete the agreed remedies within the required time. The Council had agreed to apologise to Mr and Mrs C and install their dropped kerb without delay

    Service improvements

    Review its internal procedure for ensuring compliance with, and providing evidence of, any future recommendations made by the Ombudsman.

  • Birmingham City Council (22 003 384)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 24-Nov-2022

    Summary

    there was fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s request to move to an alternative residential care home. However we cannot say that Mr X would have moved sooner but for this fault. The Council’s handling of his case caused some inconvenience to his mother, Mrs Y, who was actively involved in planning his care.

    Service improvements

    Review its working practices to screen Care Match bids before they are forwarded to the client or their representative to ensure (a) they meet the person’s assessed care needs and (b) the person meets any of the provider’s admissions criteria relating to age, personal or nursing care or client group;Review the need for written advice to staff about searching for providers not currently registered on Care Match when the client has complex needs or is in a client group known to be particularly hard to place;Remind officers who investigate complaints about the importance of giving accurate information to service-users when they convey decisions about a request for a change of social worker.

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