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 - 4 of 4 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 (21 018 334)

    Category: Benefits and tax Date: 31-Aug-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complains about how the Council handled his council tax account. There were some faults by the Council in how it managed Mr X’s council tax account and how it responded to his concerns. This caused Mr X distress, uncertainty, frustration and time and trouble chasing the Council for clarification. The Council’s failings also denied Mr X his right of appeal. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to:•by training or other means remind staff of the importance of:omanaging council tax accounts in a timely and efficient manneroensuring it communicates effectively with taxpayersofollowing the Council’s complaint handling process and procedures•review and ensure the Council’s communication strategy(s) is clear and effective between its various departments. For instance, between Revenue Services and Benefit Services. This is to ensure taxpayers’ concerns are dealt with appropriately, effectively and in a timely manner.

  • Birmingham City Council (21 014 386)

    Category: Benefits and tax Date: 31-May-2022

    Summary

    Mr B complained that the Council had repeatedly tried to recover a housing benefit overpayment from him since 2015, despite agreeing he did not owe the money. In 2021 it recovered some of the debt directly from his wages and then delayed in refunding the money, causing Mr B frustration, distress and time and trouble. We found the Council at fault. It has agreed to pay Mr B £400 and to improve its recovery procedures for the future.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review its recovery procedure to ensure it contains sufficient guidance for staff on checking the complete history of a case before pursuing recovery and that staff are aware of the correct recovery procedure.

  • Birmingham City Council (21 014 172)

    Category: Benefits and tax Date: 11-Jul-2022

    Summary

    Miss D complained how the Council handled her council tax account. She says the Council continued to apply a student exemption to her account, even though she provided it with evidence of when her course was ending. We find the Council was at fault for failing to pick up on the end date of Miss D’s course. It also was at fault for how it dealt with her complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review the wording of its complaint responses where it offers a remedy payment to ensure complainants are accurately advised of their options.

  • Birmingham City Council (21 014 058)

    Category: Benefits and tax Date: 04-Sep-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complains the Council was wrong to pursue him for business rates that he doesn’t owe. We find fault with the Council for failing to respond to Mr X, causing him frustration and distress. We have suggested remedies for the injustice Mr X suffered as a result.

    Service improvements

    2. The Council should also ensure all correspondence on a case is properly responded to before any legal steps are taken to recover local taxation debts.3. The Council should provide evidence of this in the next three months.

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