Case Ref: 22 000 114 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Disabled children

• The Council agreed to share a copy of our final decision with its Mayor’s cabinet members with portfolio responsibility for Education and Skills, and Adult and Children’s Social Care.
• The Council agreed to write to all families with children who are receiving short breaks through its Early Help service, to tell them:about the changes to the Council’s direct payments policy for disabled children following the review it agreed to carry out after the Ombudsman’s previous investigation;that they can now request a direct payment to arrange their short breaks if they wish to do so and the Council will consider this; andif they have previously requested a direct payment for short breaks and this was refused, they can complain to the Council and ask it to reconsider. We would expect the Council to give due consideration to the findings and recommendations in this decision statement when considering similar complaints.
• The Council agreed to review its procedures for Education, Health and Care plan reviews and issues reminders to relevant staff to ensure that following review meetings it issues the final amended plan within statutory timescales.
• The Council agreed to remind relevant staff:that statutory guidance and Council policy says single assessments under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 should be completed within 45 working days and the outcome communicated to the family in writing; andabout the Council’s duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to assess parent carers on the ‘appearance of need’.
• The Council agreed to review its record keeping procedures and issue reminders to staff across Special Educational Needs, Children’s Social Care, Early Help, and Disabled Children’s teams to ensure:it keeps accurate, consistent, and properly organised records for each child; andit clearly and consistently records short breaks provision, so families are clear through what route their child has been assessed as requiring short breaks.

Case Ref: 21 018 579 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• The task group that is looking at complaint handling will carry out a formal lesson learned from this complaint which will include a review of the response on the temporary traffic regulation order process. The Council will share the results of the lessons learned with the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 21 016 886 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Direct payments

• The Council has agreed to share the decision with staff as a reminder of the need to complete reviews within the regulatory time scale.

Case Ref: 21 016 655 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff that complaints from adults about the Council’s actions when they were children should be investigated unless there are good reasons not to in a specific case.

Case Ref: 21 013 830 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• The Council agreed to review its procedures for sharing information about child safeguarding, to ensure staff are clear about how they should share information with those involved in a child’s life. It will ensure any changes it makes are communicated to relevant staff.
• The Council agreed to remind relevant staff what the Children Act statutory guidance and/or the Council's policies say about:i. timescales for single assessments when making section 47 enquiries;ii. communication with a referrer of child protection concerns;iii. communication with the parent or guardian of a child who is the subject of child protection concerns;iv. the importance of properly considering whether a child should be interviewed alone when undertaking a single assessment, and fully recording this consideration; andv. the importance of properly considering whether a child’s parents or guardians should be interviewed when undertaking a single assessment, and fully recording this consideration.
• The Council agreed to remind relevant staff what its complaints procedure says about:i. ensuring complainants are satisfied if proposing early resolution to their complaint;ii. the timescales for responding to complaints;iii. the process for investigating a complaint at Stage 2; andiv. the need to signpost complainants to the Ombudsman when sending a final response.

Case Ref: 21 007 543 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will provide evidence of the Council's process to ensure oversight of the Education, Health and Care Plan timescales to prevent recurrence.
• The Council will Identify the reasons for delay in moving the complainant's son to a suitable school, take action to prevent recurrence and inform us of the action taken.

Case Ref: 21 004 025 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council agreed to review is procedures for managing the benefits of people it is appointed deputy by the Court of Protection. It will ensure relevant changes in circumstances are identified and promptly notified to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Case Ref: 21 000 051 Category: Housing Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council will remind staff of the importance of providing appropriate information about complaints received and its reasons for carrying out inspections.
• The Council will consider preparing a Frequently Asked Questions leaflet that can be given to landlords and their agents to provide standard information about the inspection process.

Case Ref: 20 013 524 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council agreed to produce clear guidance for staff and members of the public about how many offers of suitable accommodation homeless applicants can refuse before it makes a formal, final offer to end its homelessness duties to them.
• The Council agreed to remind its housing advice staff about the proper legal test they should apply when deciding whether a repeat homelessness application is exactly the same as a previous application.

Case Ref: 20 012 558 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Disabled children

• The council will review its position and guidance on direct payments to disabled children to ensure these are in line with the relevant legislation