Service improvements

Birmingham City Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026

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 41 - 47 of 47 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 (24 009 625)

    Category: Housing Date: 04-Aug-2025

    Summary

    Mr B complained that the Council wrongly removed him from the housing register and failed to backdate his registration date when he rejoined. We find that the Council should not have removed Mr B from the housing register, delayed reviewing its decision and failed to properly consider information he provided about his homelessness. The Council’s actions caused Mr B significant distress and inconvenience and have left him with uncertainty about whether he would have successfully bid on housing if there had been no fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr B and backdate his registration date. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to improve the clarity of information shared between housing and homelessness teams to ensure the housing team can clearly see when the homelessness team has decided an applicant is homeless, and therefore qualifies to join the housing register.The Council has agreed to remind officers that a person is homeless if they have no accommodation in the UK or elsewhere which is available for their occupation and which that person has a legal right to occupy.The Council has agreed to remind officers that councils should not consider it reasonable for a homelessness applicant to remain in their occupation until eviction by a bailiff.

  • Birmingham City Council (24 009 205)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 27-Apr-2025

    Summary

    Mr F complained the Council had not taken action about a vehicle that was abandoned near to his house over two years ago. It referred him to the police and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. But when he contacted those organisations, they referred him back to the Council. We uphold the complaint as the Council has duties around abandoned vehicles and it has delayed taking action. This delay has led to avoidable frustration for Mr F. The Council has agreed to our recommendations for it to take action to remove the vehicle, apologise to Mr F and introduce a written policy as a service improvement.

    Service improvements

    The Council will introduce a written policy and/or procedure for how it and its contractors deal with abandoned vehicles.

  • Birmingham City Council (24 007 520)

    Category: Housing Date: 05-May-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained about the way the Council handled her housing application. We find that the Council and Green Square Accord failed to tell Ms X that it was waiting for her to provide information, which led to her missing out on the offer of a property. When Green Square Accord later considered her application, it failed to follow a fair and transparent process which caused Ms X unnecessary distress. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to ensure officers can record the actual reason a housing applicant has not been offered a property, and not just one from a pre-populated list.The Council has agreed to ensure Green Square Accord is aware that if it is considering an application from a Council nominated applicant, it must allocate the property in accordance with the nominations agreement.The Council has agreed to ask Green Square Accord to keep a record of all telephone contact with nominated housing applicants.The Council has agreed to consider improving its systems to allow better information sharing between Registered Providers and the Council.

  • Birmingham City Council (24 005 304)

    Category: Education Date: 29-Jun-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complains the Council’s child safeguarding investigation caused her distress. She says the Council failed to consider her concerns properly, dismissing evidence of child abuse and domestic violence from the children’s father as historical. We find fault with the Council for failing to take satisfactory notes of the children’s views for the investigation, and for a late complaint response. We have agreed an apology to Ms X and service improvements for the Council.

    Service improvements

    The Council should remind staff to note children’s responses fully or keep a record about why it was not appropriate to seek further information;Ensure all documents on an investigation are kept together so they can be retrieved if needed;Remind staff to send complaint responses as set out in the Council’s policy, or if investigation takes longer, to let the complainant know.

  • Birmingham City Council (24 002 649)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 15-Jun-2025

    Summary

    Mr X complained about delays in the Council completing adaptations to his home following an Occupational Therapy assessment in January 2023. Mr X said this caused him significant distress and he suffered physically. There was fault in the way the Council delayed completing the work to Mr X’s home, did not communicate with Mr X and its poor complaint handling. This frustrated and distressed Mr X, he has lived in an unsuitable home since January 2024, and he was put to time and trouble to complain. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment and issue guidance to its staff.

    Service improvements

    • Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling.• Remind relevant staff of the importance of fully considering the needs of the wider family when completing OT assessments for DFG applications.• Provide guidance to staff about the Council’s responsibilities when completing DFG applications and works, referencing the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) Delivery: Guidance for local authorities in England.

  • Birmingham City Council (23 020 349)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 08-Jun-2025

    Summary

    The Council properly assessed Y following an investigation under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. But it failed to properly explain the outcome of its assessment causing Mrs X uncertainty and distress. It also delayed issuing its stage two response to Mrs X causing further uncertainty. The Council was under no duty to provide Mrs X with direct payments as it assessed Y as having no unmet needs. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X, make a payment to her and rewrite its assessment of Y. It will also develop an action plan to address the failings in how it wrote Y’s assessment.

    Service improvements

    The Council failed to properly explain the outcome of its assessment of a child to the parent. The Council has agreed to develop an action plan to address the persistent confusion over the explanations it gives to parents concerning its assessment processes and how it meets a child’s eligible needs, regardless of resource or the thresholds of the children with disabilities team. The Council will share a copy of the action plan with the Ombudsman.

  • Birmingham City Council (23 016 021)

    Category: Education Date: 05-May-2025

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council failed to arrange school transport for her son, Y. Mrs X says this has caused her frustration and she has had to arrange her own transport for Y. I have found fault in the Councils actions. We recommend the Council issues Mrs X with an apology, pays her a financial payment and completes service improvements.

    Service improvements

    In writing, remind officers of the importance of responding to and issuing correspondence in a timely manner.

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