Service improvements

Birmingham City Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027

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 - 10 of 13 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 (25 028 397)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 06-May-2026

    Summary

    Mrs B complained the Council has failed to address anti-social behaviour (ASB) that her daughter, Ms C, is experiencing. The Council was at fault. It failed to consider Ms C’s ASB reports and its full range of ASB powers, and decide whether it should take ASB enforcement action. Ms C suffered distress and frustration as a result. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms C, contact Ms C about the current ASB and decide what action it should take, and issue staff guidance.

    Service improvements

    The Council will share our findings on the case with relevant staff, along with guidance which outlines the Council’s ASB powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. This will help to ensure relevant staff are aware of the Council's full range of ASB powers and do not fail to consider ASB reports made to it.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 022 969)

    Category: Benefits and tax Date: 02-Jul-2026

    Summary

    We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to notify Ms X when the housing benefit claim was cancelled and provided Ms X with misinformation. This is because the Council has provided a suitable remedy to recognise the injustice caused by the delays.

    Service improvements

    issue reminders to relevant staff regarding issuing clear communication with customers

  • Birmingham City Council (25 014 424)

    Category: Housing Date: 21-Jul-2026

    Summary

    The Council incorrectly charged Ms X rent for her temporary accommodation, delayed ending its recovery action and demonstrated poor administrative practice. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused to Ms X.

    Service improvements

    The Council have agreed through training or briefing to remind relevant staff that enforcement should be appropriate, timely and kept under review. Moreover, the Council has the ability to, at any point, stop enforcement action.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 013 846)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Jul-2026

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for issuing Ms Z’s amended final Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan in November 2025 without carrying out an annual review and failed to communicate properly with Mrs X between May and August 2025. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mrs X and Ms Z to acknowledge the uncertainty and frustration it caused. It also agreed to carry out service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to draw up an action plan, with timescales, setting out the action they will take to ensure it carries out annual reviews in accordance with statutory timescales. The action plan should also ensure it has processes in place to put appropriate cover in place for both planned and unplanned extended absences of case officers to maintain continuity of case management and minimise disruption to service delivery.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 013 262)

    Category: Planning Date: 05-Jul-2026

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council’s Building Control wrongly refuses to register valid building regulation notifications which are not submitted directly through a Competent Person Scheme. We found fault by the Council. This is because it has refused to store notifications in line with the Building Regulations 2010 and based its decision on scheme specific membership rules which was not for it to enforce. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and take action to enable his, and other installers, valid notifications to be stored in line with the Regulations.

    Service improvements

    The Council will revise its building control process to allow notifications it receives in line with Section 20 of the Building Regulations 2010 by self-certified installers, or others action on their behalf, to be stored in a retrievable format. This includes notifications which are not made through Competent Person Schemes, unless the Council cannot satisfy itself installers are members of an authorised scheme for the relevant works, or works took place within the period an installer was a member of such scheme.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 011 792)

    Category: Housing Date: 06-Jul-2026

    Summary

    There was fault by the Council. The Council delayed carrying out a suitability review of temporary accommodation and delayed moving a family when it found the accommodation was unsuitable. The Council also placed the family in Bed and Breakfast accommodation for 43 weeks over the maximum 6 weeks allowed. The family have now moved, but an apology, symbolic payment and review of procedures remedies the injustice.

    Service improvements

    Tell staff (via email or a change in guidance) that accommodation without a separate kitchen and bathroom is classed as Bed and Breakfast accommodation even if a kettle, airfryer and microwave is provided in the room, as this does not constitute a kitchen.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 008 475)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 06-Jul-2026

    Summary

    Miss X complained about the Council’s alleged failure to meet her assessed care and support needs and about the standard of care provided to her by the Council’s commissioned domiciliary care providers. There was fault by the Council for its delays with reassessing Miss X’s care needs and with implementing her agreed direct payment managed account. This caused injustice to Miss X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    Review its processes to ensure direct payments are put in place as soon as possible or to ensure a commissioned service is put in place if there are circumstances which are causing delays to the provision of direct payments. This is to ensure there are no gaps in service users’ care provision.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 008 459)

    Category: Education Date: 07-May-2026

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council failed to provide alternative education for her child, Y after they were permanently excluded from school. We found the Council at fault for a delay in making alternative provision for Y resulting in a loss of educational provision and distress. The Council agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Miss X to remedy the injustice caused. It also agreed to carry out service improvements to prevent reoccurrence of the fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review the cases of each of the 137 permanently excluded pupils placed on the waiting list between December 2024 and March 2025. Where its six-day statutory duty to provide alternative provision was not met it will:1. contact the parent or guardian of those identified pupils and advise them it did not meet its six-day statutory duty for alternative provision and provide them with an update; and 2. provide details about how those identified can complain through the Council’s corporate complaint procedure.The Council will produce an action plan to identify how it will meet its six-day statutory duty to provide alternative provision to pupils after permanent exclusion. The action plan should include but is not limited to:1. a review its commissioning arrangements with alternative provision providers to ensure it has sufficient capacity;2. the actions it will undertake to reduce capacity constraints within its alternative provision system; 3. the actions it will take to reduce current waiting lists and times for permanently excluded pupils; and 4. timeframes for any action to be taken.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 007 124)

    Category: Education Date: 21-Jun-2026

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for the delay in providing Miss X’s child, Y, with alternative educational provision and its failure to provide Y with the specialist provision in their EHC Plan. It was also at fault for the delay in carrying out an annual review of Y’s EHC Plan and for the delay in carrying out an Occupational Therapy assessment for Y. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to acknowledge the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to provide us with an action plan, specifically around how the Council intends to reduce OT assessment wait times.

  • Birmingham City Council (25 006 805)

    Category: Housing Date: 27-May-2026

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for the time taken to carry out a suitability review and for providing incorrect information about how to challenge this decision. The Council was also at fault for leaving Mr X’s family in accommodation for two months after it decided the accommodation was unsuitable. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X and ensure its review letters contained the correct information.

    Service improvements

    The Council will ensure that it’s homelessness review decision letters contain the correct paragraph at the end telling customers that they can challenge the decision in the county court, not by asking for a further review.

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