Service improvements

Cumbria County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

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 - 6 of 6 cases with service improvements

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

  • Cumbria County Council (20 013 483)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 31-Aug-2021

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council reclaimed unspent direct payments it provided to her as her mother’s carer. The Council was not at fault for reclaiming the unspent funds. It was at fault for not advising Ms X it intended to do this and for not giving her four weeks’ notice in line with its terms and conditions. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms X to acknowledge the frustration caused. It has also agreed to take action to prevent a recurrence of the fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind staff of the need to give four weeks' notice and to advise of any potential reclaim of funds before closing direct payment accounts.The Council has agreed to develop guidance for staff on when unspent budget will be reclaimed following the closure of a carer's direct payment following the death of the cared for person.

  • Cumbria County Council (20 012 303)

    Category: Other Categories Date: 15-Dec-2021

    Summary

    Mr and Mrs D complain the Council failed to ensure it sent information to them in their preferred format and delayed responding to their complaint. There was fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mr and Mrs D and to ensure its records on reasonable adjustments are up to date.

    Service improvements

    Ensure each services’ records are up to date in relation to the reasonable adjustments that are required for contact with the complainants.Remind all services of the need to keep reasonable adjustments records up to date.

  • Cumbria County Council (20 011 877)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 10-Jun-2021

    Summary

    We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council has failed to arrange contact with ‘child A’, who is in care, and has refused to deal with her complaint about the matter. The Council has accepted it was at fault for not dealing with the complaint and has agreed to do so. Mrs X can return to the Ombudsman if she disagrees with the Council’s conclusions on the complaint.

    Service improvements

    I told Council it must change its practice and comply with regs. It has said it will issue a briefing note to staff on correctly applying regs/guidance.

  • Cumbria County Council (20 011 503)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 27-Sep-2021

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the actions of an enforcement agent acting on behalf of the Council. Mr X said the agent acted in a threatening and bullying manner which caused him avoidable distress. Mr X would like the Council to apologise and compensate him for the distress caused. We found no evidence of fault by the enforcement agent but evidence of fault in the complaint handling process. The Council has agreed a remedy to address the injustice caused to Mr X.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind staff to adhere to the Council’s complaints procedure.

  • Cumbria County Council (20 004 844)

    Category: Education Date: 07-Oct-2021

    Summary

    Mrs Y complains the Council failed to review her daughter’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan and provide suitable alternative educational provision when her placement broke down. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault for failing to complete the Annual Review process and to fully assess whether the alternative provision provided was suitable. This caused B and Mrs Y distress and confusion, and delayed Mrs Y’s appeal rights to the SEND Tribunal. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to: apologise to Mrs Y and B, issue B’s final EHC Plan, make a payment to them and make several service improvements.

    Service improvements

    the Council has also agreed to make the following service improvement: review its guidance to staff on the Council’s section 19 legal duty to provide suitable alternative educational provisionthe Council has also agreed to make the following service improvement: provide training to relevant members of staff on what to do when a placement breaks down and the Council’s section 19 legal duty to provide suitable alternative educational provision;the Council has also agreed to make the following service improvement: produce and publish a statement on how it can help children with EHC Plans who are out of school.the Council has also agreed to make the following service improvement: review any other cases where Annual Reviews are currently outstanding for the 2021/22 academic year, specifically when the child or young person’s placement has broken down, and produce an action plan about how it intends to address this.the Council has also agreed to make the following service improvement: share this decision with relevant members of staff involved in the EHC Plan review process.

  • Cumbria County Council (20 001 814)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 12-Jul-2021

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council’s Generic Domiciliary Care policy financially disadvantaged his disabled mother, Mrs Y. He said the Council also incorrectly charged for Mrs Y’s care. We do not find fault with the Council’s policy. However, the Council was at fault for incorrectly charging Mrs Y for care she did not receive and for failing to respond to Mr X’s complaints. The Council has already recalculated Mrs Y’s care costs. It has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 in recognition of the avoidable time and trouble he has gone to in pursuing his complaints. It will also remind relevant staff to follow the Adult Social Care complaints policy.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the requirement to follow the Adult Social Care complaint’s procedure.

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