Case Ref: 24 014 400 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Council tax

• Improve internal guidance or undertake staff training to ensure accurate and consistent advice on council tax liabilities, particularly in relation to HMOs and exemptions.

Case Ref: 24 012 966 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Disabled facilities grants

• The Council has agreed to: by team meetings, staff circulars, or training, remind staff about when to carry out social care reviews and that duties under the Care Act 2014 are ongoing even if other Council departments are involved,
• remind relevant housing and social care staff to work together when there are adaptations so people’s needs are met when completing adaptation work;
• review the Council’s process/policy to ensure it includes a specific step to consider how people’s care needs are to be met when there is adaptation work.

Case Ref: 24 007 625 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• Carry out a review of the issues Mrs X has had with her assisted collections, (to cover at least the last 12 weeks) and determine the cause of the issues.
• Work with provider B to review its waste collection monitoring arrangements to ensure they are robust and effective in identifying and resolving any problems and in improving service levels.
• Ensure the review and associated action plan, is considered monthly at the contract meetings between provider B and the Council. Ensure this takes place over the next 12 months to enable a meaningful period of monitoring.

Case Ref: 24 005 216 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will send a reminder to officers about the need to consider whether a housing applicant has exceptional circumstances which warrant inclusion on the direct offer list and to ensure decisions about that are communicated to the housing applicant.

Case Ref: 24 004 803 Category: Education Sub Category: Other

• The Council has agreed to demonstrate to the Ombudsman that senior management have taken over the work between the childcare provider and the Council with regards to the nursery's compliance with law and guidance in how it charges parents for funded nursery hours.
• The Council has agreed to show the Ombudsman what action it has taken to prevent residents using the nursery being charged additional fees on top of childcare hours that should be free. This consideration might include removing the provider from the scheme for funded nursery hours.

Case Ref: 24 004 556 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council failed to arrange the Occupational Therapy provision in the final Education, Health, and Care Plan for a full year. It agreed to review what happened in this case and produce an action plan, with dates, of steps it needs to take to prevent similar issues in future. As part of this review, it will specifically consider:if there were avoidable delays in searching for an Occupational Therapy provider which should be addressed by changes to administrative processes, or staff training; andif there are steps it should take to address any issues with Occupational Therapy capacity in its area.

Case Ref: 24 003 802 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will share this decision with staff, and remind relevant staff to be alert to concerns that an EHC Plan is not fully implemented, so the Council can be certain it is meeting its duty to make sure the provision is made.

Case Ref: 24 002 934 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Provide guidance to staff about who or what team they need to contact to arrange for the storage of a person’s possessions.
• Develop a policy or guidance for staff setting out the correct way interim and temporary accommodation should be ended. The Council should ensure it sets out:a.The correct notice a person should receive depending on the type of accommodation they occupy. b.Whether there is a need to apply to court for possession and eviction. c.How those who have stayed in the same accommodation after the main housing duty has been accepted should be treated.

Case Ref: 24 002 809 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• Provide guidance to staff to consider any action required under the Council’s statutory duties when it becomes aware of non-attendance at schools, and to record all actions, communication and decision making as part of this consideration.

Case Ref: 24 002 303 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to share a copy of this decision with staff in the relevant departments to share the learning and the good practice highlighted by this case.
• The Council has agreed to identify and implement a process to enable the Council to pick up and deal with time-sensitive cases when an officer is off sick or on leave.
• The Council has agreed to remind staff responsible for responding to complaints that they should keep complainants informed of any delays and provide a new, realistic, deadline response for a response.
• The Council has agreed to remind staff responsible for responding to complaints that where the Council upholds the complaint, it should consider what it needs to do to remedy the injustice caused to the complainant.