Case Ref: 22 013 117 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will remind staff they can issue final Education, Health and Care plans without parental agreement. This gives the parent the right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability tribunal to resolve any disagreement over the content of the plan.
• The Council will remind staff they must consider whether it owes a child the duty to arrange alternative provision when they become aware the child is out of education or not attending full-time.
• The Council will review the monitoring arrangements it has in place to assure itself that a) children are receiving appropriate alternative provision when they are not in school full-time and b) children receiving alternative provision who have Education, Health and Care plans are receiving the special educational provision set out in their plans. If the Council identifies any actions it needs to take to improve its practice, it will produce an action plan and send it to the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 22 008 174 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• the Council will evidence how it ensures schools/educational establishments are aware that an annual review for a pupil is required that term
• the Council will evidence how it ensures schools refer pupils out of school to the Council
• the Council will consider whether it needs to review its s19 policy on alternative education, taking into consideration key lessons from the Ombudsman's Focus Report of July 2022

Case Ref: 22 007 521 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• The Council has agreed to ensure relevant officers are adequately trained on complaint-handling, particularly with regard to the timescales set out in the Council’s procedure.

Case Ref: 22 000 877 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• the Council will tell us how it will ensure annual reviews are held on time;
• the Council will tell us whether its improved record system is preventing delay after an annual review;
• the Council will tell us about its procedures for parents/carers requesting a personal budget and how parents/carers can appeal a negative decision;
• the Council will ensure that timescales for dealing with statutory Children Act complaints are met.

Case Ref: 21 006 547 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Domiciliary care

• Review its record keeping to ensure it clearly records a patient’s decision to refuse section 117 after care and whether the Council is satisfied this was an informed decision. This is to ensure the Council has an audit trail of patients’ key decisions about section 117 after care.

Case Ref: 22 011 825 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will revise the Education Health and Care Plan process to build in a trigger question for the caseworkers, so they share the transport policy during the assessment process.
• The Council will confirm when the revised post-19 Transport Policy will be finalised and approved by committee. This should be in place for the 2023/24 academic year.
• The Council failed to carry out agreed actions following an earlier investigation about its failure to provide appropriate free transport to college for an adult learner with an Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council will consider this decision at an appropriate committee or cabinet meeting to ensure its leaders are aware of the faults identified, the potential impact on adult learners, and can consider what actions are needed to prevent a future recurrence of its failure to act on our recommendations.

Case Ref: 22 009 666 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Disabled children

• The Council has agreed to review how it ensures the Council is complying with the statutory complaints procedure where a stage two is requested.

Case Ref: 22 007 792 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to ensure that an existing programme to improve data collection around Education, Health and Care Plans would include being able to identify cases where it has failed to meet the statutory four-week target to confirm the action it is taking following an annual review. Also, that it would have a policy to explain what action the Council will take when the target is not met; i.e. how it will escalate such cases for further action and by whom and so on.
• The Council agreed to introduce a policy (or amend any existing policy) to record where it has failed to meet its time target for responding to complaints about its special education needs service. This will cover how the Council will keep in touch with complainants where it misses the target and how it will escalate such cases to managers to ensure it sends a reply.

Case Ref: 22 007 591 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they are aware they must respond to complaints within the timescales set out in the complaints procedure. They should keep complainants updated if there are going to be delays.
• The Council will issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they are aware they should arrange alternativeprovision for children who cannot attend school without unnecessary delay.
• The Council will issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they comply with the statutory timescales after an EHC needs assessment is requested.

Case Ref: 22 005 900 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Council tax

• The Council will consider inputting timescales into its policies for completing consideration of applications and appeals relating to Council Tax. Namely, applications for single person discount and Discretionary Council Tax Reductions and appeals made to the Council about Council Tax.