Case Ref: 19 018 743 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council should invite other members of a Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference to hold a join review of the handling of a case to see what lessons can be learned and what improvements can be made to individual services and communication between services.
• The Council should produce a joint working agreement or protocol between children’s services and its housing department to set out responsibilities and communication channels when dealing with families who are homeless or who need to move from their accommodation.
• The Council should provide training to children’s services staff on the Council’s duties to homeless families and remind staff of the Council’s duties under section 213B of the Housing Act 1996 (as inserted by the Homelessness (Review Procedure) Regulations 2018).
• The Council should remind relevant staff that homelessness applications can be considered alongside housing applications.
• The Council should remind staff in its housing department to review and take necessary action when supporting information is received in relation to a housing application.

Case Ref: 19 018 718 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will review its appeal procedures to ensure applicants are invited to provide verbal representations to the stage two appeal panel. The Council should explain to the Ombudsman the action it has taken to improve its performance in this area.

Case Ref: 19 018 497 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council should provide training to review officers about the necessity of keeping clear records of an officer’s decision-making rationale.

Case Ref: 19 017 943 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council should remind relevant staff that homelessness applications can be considered alongsidehousing applications.
• The Council should remind staff that households do not have to accept temporary accommodation inorder to be considered homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Case Ref: 19 017 213 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Other

• Th Council should complete an audit of one hundred enforcement cases from December 2019 where an enforcement agent from the enforcement company alleged they visited a debtor’s property, and the debtor was not present. If the Council finds there are other cases where a debtor has been incorrectly charged an enforcement fee, it should offer a remedy to the individual and widen the timescale of its audit.
• The Council should also review how it monitors that the enforcement companies it uses meet Standard 20 of the Ministry of Justice’s National Standards.

Case Ref: 19 017 083 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will review the record keeping of its Temporary Accommodation Property Service (TAPS) to ensure repairs are followed through and completed within the specified timescales.

Case Ref: 19 016 927 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• • Amend parking signs in Ladywood to include the extra cost of using the automated phone service to pay for parking.
• • Complete an equality analysis for the cashless parking scheme in Ladywood. If the equality assessment finds the Council should take mitigating action to lessen any negative impacts on those with protected characteristics, the Council should create an action plan for completing this work.

Case Ref: 19 016 813 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• Council will ensure that the appeal process is in accordance with the statutory guidance and its own policy.
• Ensure that reasons are given for decisions to refuse school transport.

Case Ref: 19 013 796 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Other

• The Council agreed to carry out a review to look at why there were failures with its handling of this complaint and take steps to ensure lessons learned are communicated to relevant officers.
• The Council agreed to contact the neighbour to make arrangements to carry out the recommended action suggested by the officer who inspected his flat.
• The Council agreed to ensure the officer’s recommended actions are completed.
• The Council agreed to monitor the site for a 4 weeks following completion of the officer’s recommended action to see whether the rat problem is resolved.

Case Ref: 19 013 731 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will also issue a reminder to officers that decision letters must clearly communicate the reasons for the decision to the appellant.