Case Ref: 20 002 507 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The information provided by the Council already demonstrates it has taken action to address the shortcomings in its service to parents, for example, additional staffing, more frequent SEN panels etc

Case Ref: 20 001 064 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has already confirmed that it no longer uses interim reviews and that any review needed before the 12 month time limit is simply an earlier formal review.

Case Ref: 19 015 215 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council should introduce a process to ensure when it commissions organisations to provide section 117 aftercare eon its behalf, it explains what section 117 is, and why it is asking that organisation to provide it.
• The Council should review its processes to ensure it carries out reviews of carer assessments in accordance with the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support Statutory Guidance.
• The Council and CCG should work together to ensure it has a joint record of who receives section 117 in its area. This should be the case even if one of those organisations does not commission or provide that support.

Case Ref: 19 014 516 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review its processes to ensure staff understand the importance of considering whether adjustments are needed to the way it communicates with service users to meet its obligations under the Equality Act 2020, and ensure that reasonable adjustments agreed are properly recorded so all relevant staff are aware of them.

Case Ref: 19 012 719 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• The Council should remind it's planning officers of the need to consult with conservation and heritage officers where appropriate.
• The Council should remind planning officers of the need to records their reasons for reaching a view on material planning considerations, particularly where these have been raised in comments made by members of the public.
• The Council should explore whether it is possible to advertise on the Council’s website that condition discharge applications may be determined before the deadline for comments has passed. If this is not possible the Council should ensure decisions are not taken before the deadline has passed.

Case Ref: 19 010 786 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• As a result of fault found in the Council's procedures for handling applications for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisations, the Council has agreed to do the following: produce an action plan for how it will deal with incoming DoLS applications and the backlog of unassessed applications; ensure the action plan takes into account the changes in law and government guidance resulting from the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019; include in the action plan a mechanism for addressing cases where a request is eventually not approved and unlawful deprivation of liberty had a potentially harmful impact on that person; and produce a mechanism for reviewing the action plan should there be any further changes to the relevant law and government guidance.

Case Ref: 19 006 558 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• The Council should remind it's planning officers of the need to consult with conservation and heritage officers where appropriate.
• The Council should remind planning officers of the need to records their reasons for reaching a view on material planning considerations, particularly where these have been raised in comments made by members of the public.
• The Council should explore whether it is possible to advertise on the Council’s website that condition discharge applications may be determined before the deadline for comments has passed. If this is not possible the Council should ensure decisions are not taken before the deadline has passed.

Case Ref: 18 004 507 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Fostering

• The Council will review its staying put policy to ensure it clearly sets out what it will and will not pay to staying put carers and how this differs from what it pays to foster carers.
• The Council will remind staff of the need to start planning for transition to adulthood at least 12 months before a looked after child turns 18 and ensure that carers are given sufficient information to make an informed choice about whether to continue to provide care on a staying put basis.
• The Council will review its complaints process to ensure it does not exclude complaints where a person is asking the Council to exercise its discretion over how to apply a policy or when to depart from it.

Case Ref: 19 005 127 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• The Council will review its processes to ensure applicants receive its prior notification decision notices within the 56-day time limit.
• The Council will remind its officers of the practices and procedures relating to prior notification applications.

Case Ref: 19 004 115 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• The Council will review its children's complaint handling procedures to ensure they comply with statutory guidance regarding offering stage 3 panels where stage 2 investigations do not uphold all alleged faults.