Service improvements

Cheshire East Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 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 60 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Cheshire East Council as a CSV file.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 009 093)

    Category: Education Date: 01-Apr-2026

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for not issuing the final amended EHC Plan for Mrs X’s child, Y within statutory timescales following an annual review. The Council was also at fault for issuing delayed responses to Mrs X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to remedy the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused to Mrs X.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind complaints officers by way of staff training or a briefing to issue complaint responses within the timescales set out in the corporate complaints policy.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 007 240)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Apr-2026

    Summary

    Mrs Y complains the Council failed to ensure her child received suitable provision once they stopped attending school. In our view, the Council did not properly consider whether it had a duty to arrange alternative provision once it became aware the child was not in school. The Council also insisted on certain medical evidence which is not in accordance with statutory government guidance. The Council will complete the agreed actions to remedy the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind relevant officers to record clear decisions about whether a child can reasonably attend school and whether alternative provision is required. Where the Council decides alternative provision is not necessary, it will record the reasons for that decision and the evidence it relied on.The Council will remind relevant staff that they should not insist on medical evidence from specific professionals, such as consultants or CAMHS clinicians, before considering whether the Section 19 duty applies. Officers should consider all available information about the child’s circumstances, recognising that some families may not be able to obtain evidence from specialist services.The Council will review its ‘Medical Needs Tuition’ policy (September 2022) to make sure it reflects the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, which says councils should consider all available medical evidence, including evidence from GPs, when deciding what education a child may need. The Council’s current policy requires consultant level evidence at the point of referral and only accepts GP evidence in limited circumstances and on an interim basis.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 006 085)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 13-Apr-2026

    Summary

    Ms H complained about the support her father received from a care home commissioned by the Council, and how they communicated with her. She said as a result he did not receive enough equipment, missed out on NHS funding, and she experienced distress. We did not find fault by the Council on the substantive parts of the complaint. However, there was some fault in the communication with Ms H which was not timely or clear. The Council will apologise to her to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty this caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council will share this decision with the care home for it to review how it can ensure communication with relatives is clear. This includes when referrals are made or outcomes are known, and may also include guidance on who a relative can approach if they disagree with decisions made by other bodies.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 000 499)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 14-Apr-2026

    Summary

    Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of allegations made against her and the conduct of its safeguarding procedures. We have not found the Council at fault for its conduct or communication during its initial visit to Ms X’s home, or in how it accounted for the information received in its decision-making. We have found the Council at fault for not appropriately providing Ms X with a copy of its assessment and for delay in issuing its closure letter. We believe this caused Ms X avoidable distress and uncertainty. We found the Council at fault for not making clear Ms X could have been accompanied during an interview. For the reasons set out in the decision, we do not believe this caused a significant injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and pay a symbolic financial remedy to recognise the avoidable distress caused. The Council also agreed to remind staff that individuals can be accompanied in interviews where appropriate.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind its officers that statutory guidance confirms individuals can be accompanied by others during interviews by social workers as part of protection proceedsings, where appropriate, and that individuals should be advised of this right ahead of interviews taking place.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 003 123)

    Category: Education Date: 15-Jan-2026

    Summary

    Ms X complained that the Council failed to secure provision set out in her daughter’s Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council is at fault for failing to secure the provision from February 2025 to July 2025. This caused avoidable distress and frustration to Ms X and her daughter. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic remedy, and make a service improvement.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review its decision making and identify gaps in oversight in its handling of missing EHC Plan provision, and outline lessons learned and what it will do in the future to ensure provision in a child or young person’s EHC Plan is delivered.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 002 898)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 19-Mar-2026

    Summary

    Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of Mr Y’s care charges and financial assessment. She also complained about the Council’s delay in discharging Mr Y from respite care, and said it failed to explain why he could not go home after the initial six-week reablement period. The Council is at fault for delay in making an occupational therapy referral. It is also at fault for the way it communicated with Ms X about the charges. This caused avoidable uncertainty and distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment, and make a service improvement.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to send written reminders to relevant staff of the importance of providing clear information about charging and the financial assessment process to service users. In line with the Care Act guidance, this information should include what people are likely to pay towards their care and support needs. The Council should ensure they accurately record, in detail, any discussions and advice given around this.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 002 549)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Nov-2025

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about delays following the Annual Reviews of her son’s (Y) Education Health and Care Plan. We found fault with the Council’s failure to comply with the statutory review timescales. This fault caused injustice to Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic distress payment and carry out some service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its Annual Review process to ensure there are no unnecessary delays in dealing with the review documents sent by the schools.The Council will ensure there is a system in place to prevent parents of the children with EHC Plans being negatively affected by the changes in the SEND staff.

  • Cheshire East Council (25 002 457)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 13-Aug-2025

    Summary

    We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council failed to consider his complaint under the statutory children’s complaints procedure. This is because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    Remind relevant staff of the types of complaints that should be considered under the statutory procedure (section 2.2 of the statutory guidance 'Getting the best from complaints' details this)

  • Cheshire East Council (24 021 651)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 03-Dec-2025

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to resolve flooding of her property. We found fault in the way the Council responded to Mrs X’s flooding reports. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise and hold a meeting with Mrs X to provide her with clear and accurate information about the Council’s plans for the area affected by the flooding. The Council has also agreed to carry out some service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its record keeping to ensure all communication and decisions are recorded on the central system.The Council will remind its staff responding to the flooding reports of the importance to provide updates to people who have been affected. If the Council does not intend to take any action, it should communicate it clearly, providing its reasons.

  • Cheshire East Council (24 017 816)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 28-Sep-2025

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council incorrectly assessed his mother’s disability related expenditure when reviewing her financial assessment linked to care costs. We found fault because the Council applied a blanket approach to the disability related costs it would write off which it should not have done. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and his mother, review her financial assessment, update its charging policy and guidance and share this with relevant staff.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review and amend its adult social care non-residential charging policy and any associated disability related expenditure (DRE) documentation or guidance issued to officers. It will do this to reflect there should be no DRE limit equivalent to the amount of disability related benefit a person receives when it writes off DRE in its financial assessments. This will help to ensure it does not fetter its discretion by adopting such a limit.

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