Cheshire East Council (24 005 052)

Statement Upheld Planning applications 07-Apr-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not tell her about later planning applications for a neighbouring development, after it refused planning permission for the first application. This meant Mrs X missed the chance to object to the redesigned scheme. Mrs X also said the Council failed to properly consider the impact on her home. We found the Council was at fault for failing to consult Mrs X on two planning applications. However, there was no fault in the Council’s decision-making, so the fault did not affect the result, and there is no significant remaining injustice.

Cheshire East Council (24 010 821)

Statement Upheld Charging 14-Apr-2025

Summary: Mr Y complained about the Council’s delay in telling his late mother, Mrs Z, about her care charges and that it calculated her charges incorrectly. The Council was at fault for significant delay. There was no fault in the way it calculated the care charges. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr Y and make a payment to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty he was caused. It has also agreed to review the way its finance and social work teams communicate to prevent similar delays in future.

Cheshire East Council (23 021 149)

Statement Upheld Safeguarding 22-Apr-2025

Summary: There was fault in the way the Council carried out a safeguarding enquiry into concerns about a care home. This meant there is uncertainty of what would have happened if the enquiry had been carried out differently. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay a symbolic financial remedy and review its practice.

Cheshire East Council (24 008 973)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 24-Apr-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to secure the special educational provision her in daughter, W’s, Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. The Council was at fault. To remedy their injustice, the Council will apologise to Mrs X and pay her £1400. It will arrange speech and language therapy provision for W. Lastly, the Council will review why it delayed reassessing W’s needs for her EHC Plan and issue a staff reminder.

Cheshire East Council (24 011 853)

Statement Upheld School exclusions 26-May-2025

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to adequately facilitate an independent review panel meeting regarding a permanent exclusion from school. She also complained the Council failed to produce adequate minutes of the meeting. Ms X said the Council’s actions negatively affected the family’s mental health. We found fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to provide an apology, a financial remedy and a copy of the notes taken at the meeting.

Cheshire East Council (25 003 674)

Statement Upheld Other 09-Jun-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about delays in the Council completing the stage three review panel under the children statutory complaints procedure. This is because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

Cheshire East Council (23 016 429)

Statement Upheld Other 03-Jul-2025

Summary: Mrs B complained that the Council failed to take appropriate action to safeguard and promote the welfare of her children. We find there were delays in care planning which likely delayed Mrs B from having unsupervised contact with her children. The Council also failed to respond to correspondence sent on behalf of Mrs B. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mrs B. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

Cheshire East Council (24 008 495)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 08-Jul-2025

Summary: The Council was at fault for failing to secure the full special educational provision in Mrs X’s daughter, Y’s, Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. It was also at fault for delay in completing a review of Y’s EHC Plan. The faults caused Mrs X upset, frustration and uncertainty and meant Y missed out on some provision. To remedy their injustice, the Council will apologise to Mrs X and Y and pay Mrs X a total of £1000.

Cheshire East Council (24 017 188)

Statement Upheld Child protection 08-Jul-2025

Summary: The Council was not at fault for the way it responded to Mrs X’s reports of a safeguarding risk to her children. It took short-term action to reduce the risk and then carried out an assessment to put long-term support in place for Mrs X’s family. The Council failed to follow its complaint procedure, causing Mrs X uncertainty and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise and take steps to ensure it follows its complaint procedure in future.

Cheshire East Council (24 016 531)

Statement Upheld Fostering 10-Jul-2025

Summary: Miss X complained the Council’s children’s services department did not effectively communicate with her when her child was placed into voluntary care arranged by the Council. We found fault because the Council failed to consider her complaint under the children’s statutory complaints procedure. This caused Miss X avoidable distress and frustration. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to consider Miss X’s concerns through the statutory procedure and apologise for failing to do this originally. It has also agreed to make a payment to her and issue guidance to staff.