Herefordshire Council (23 014 021)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 28-May-2024

Summary: The Council failed to provide suitable accommodation for Ms X and her family for almost two and a half years. This included a prolonged stay in bed and breakfast accommodation. In recognition of the injustice caused by this fault (service failure), the Council has agreed to apologise and pay Ms X £13,580. The Council has also agreed to pay Ms X £200 for each additional future month she spends in unsuitable accommodation and said it will carry out our recommended service improvement.

Herefordshire Council (23 013 891)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 19-Jun-2024

Summary: Miss X complains the Council did not properly provide adult social care for her father. The Council is at fault because it did not seek consent concerning staff being accompanied and it did not communicate properly about Occupational Therapy services. Miss X and Mr Y were unable to object to additional staff and left uncertain when actions were going to be taken. The Council should apologise and provide guidance to staff.

Herefordshire Council (24 000 744)

Statement Upheld Other 03-Sep-2024

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to arrange contact with her grandchildren and respond to her queries on the matter. The Council was at fault which caused Miss X upset and uncertainty and meant she missed out on contact with her grandchildren. The Council has agreed to apologise, put measures in place to ensure she has contact going forward and make a payment to Miss X.

Herefordshire Council (23 018 878)

Statement Upheld Other 29-Sep-2024

Summary: Ms X complains the Council did not properly safeguard her and her children. Ms X says the Council failed to recognise the impact of this, despite her complaints being upheld by the statutory complaints process. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for its actions during the statutory complaints process. The Council has agreed to pay a financial remedy and carry out service improvements.

Herefordshire Council (24 002 513)

Statement Upheld Antisocial behaviour 12-Dec-2024

Summary: Ms D complained about the Council’s investigation of noise from a neighbouring house. We partially upheld the complaint, finding the Council did not record telling Ms D when it closed its investigation nor answer emails she sent later. This caused her avoidable and unnecessary distress. The Council has accepted these findings. At the end of this statement we set out action it has agreed to remedy that injustice and to improve its service to prevent a repeat.

Herefordshire Council (24 013 517)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 21-Jan-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a scheme to introduce tenants for her property. This is because the Council has already taken action to remedy the injustice caused and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

Herefordshire Council (24 001 758)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Jan-2025

Summary: Ms F complained about how the Council handled her son’s (Y) Education, Health, and Care plan process and how it communicated with her. We found the Council at fault for causing a six-month delay in the statutory process. It also failed to acknowledge and respond to much of her communication. In addition to its apology, it will make payment to Ms F to acknowledge the impact its faults caused.

Herefordshire Council (24 008 257)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Jan-2025

Summary: Ms C complained about the Council’s handling of the Education, Health, and Care plan process for her son (X) and his education when he stopped attending school. We found the Council at fault for failing to adhere to the statutory timescales, a delay in providing alternative provision for X, some poor communication, and failing to provide her with her appeal rights. In addition to the Council’s apology, it will make payment to Ms C to acknowledge the injustice this caused her and X.

Herefordshire Council (24 017 255)

Statement Upheld Other 24-Feb-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint the Council has failed to respond to her stage two complaint within the statutory timescales. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

Herefordshire Council (24 007 066)

Statement Upheld Noise 30-Mar-2025

Summary: Mr D complained the Council delayed investigating an alleged noise and light nuisance. Based on current evidence I have found the Council delayed investigating the case which meant Mr D had to wait longer than is reasonable for his case to progress. The Council will explain to the Ombudsman the actions taken to prevent a similar fault occurring.