The Council has agreed to provide an update on the action it is taking to ensure homeless families do not remain in accommodation with shared facilities for more than six weeks. It will also provide evidence to show the number of families who have been in such accommodation for more than six weeks, and the average length of time homeless families have to stay before self-contained accommodation is provided.The Council has agreed to review its processes to ensure that when it is carrying out a suitability of accommodation review and decides the applicant needs to be moved to alternative temporary accommodation, it writes to them with its decision on the review.

The Council has agreed to provide an update on the action it is taking to ensure homeless families do not remain in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks. It will also provide evidence to show the number of families who have been in such accommodation for more than six weeks, and the average length of time homeless families have to stay before self-contained accommodation is provided.The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff that homelessness applicants must be told about their right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation.The Council has agreed to review its processes for extending hotel bookings to ensure that, wherever possible, it does not wait until the date the homeless applicant is due to check out before trying to extend the booking.

The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure that when it closes a housing application due to a housing related debt, its letter to the applicant includes a full description of the debt and the amount outstanding.The Council has agreed to provide an update on its performance in dealing with complaints along with details of the action it has taken over the last four months to reduce delays.The Council has agreed to provide an updated action plan showing the action it is taking to reduce delays in dealing with housing allocation applications and review requests. It will state how long it is currently taking to process housing applications and reviews and it will provide a report to show how the time it is taking has changed over the last year. If delays have not significantly reduced, it will explain the reason for this.

The Council will provide the Ombudsman with an action plan showing how and by when it will address any remaining backlog in planning enforcement complaints.

The Council has agreed to liaise with the Care Home to ensure it has taken appropriate steps to make staff familiar with the Visitors Policy and Procedure and the actions to take before excluding a visitor.

The Council will remind complaint handling staff of the Ombudsman’s remit and to signpost to us within a final response where appropriate.