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.

Case Ref: 19 012 992 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Responding to this investigation the Council said that it has now put in place robust mechanisms to ensure statutory timescales associated with EHC Plans are now met. It has agreed to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the service improvements made to address the failings in process highlighted by this complaint, and to do so within three months.

Case Ref: 19 012 319 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council should review other cases where it took longer than eight weeks to review and then overturned original decisions. It should offer suitable remedies to those people along the same lines as the remedy for this complaint. It should provide a report to the Ombudsman setting out the work done.
• The Council should review its complaint-handling so it upholds and remedies such complaints itself.

Case Ref: 19 010 683 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind staff of the need to consider an emergency review of Education Health and Care plans if there is a significant change in young person’s circumstances.