Case Ref: 24 009 642 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to remind relevant officers of the legal duty to assess and make an accurate and comprehensive record of the current housing and support needs of the applicant. Particularly where the Council has previously accepted a duty to the applicant.

Case Ref: 24 006 466 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will ensure officers follow a clear andconsistent process when considering s.19 and s.42 duties. This should includeconsulting professionals involved with the child, considering all the evidence,reaching a decision, recording the decision and rationale, and thencommunicating this to families. The Council may wish to consider whether adecision checklist and standard decision letter format may be helpful toofficers making decisions and to those reviewing decisions or consideringcomplaints.

Case Ref: 24 005 979 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review the systems it has in place for monitoring consultations with education and tuition providers to ensure they are sent and followed up without delay.

Case Ref: 24 005 369 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• By training or other means, remind officers that they should promptly review an applicants’ housing options following a council’s failure to respond to, or refusal to accept, a Section 213 reciprocal agreement to determine if the council should approach other councils.

Case Ref: 24 004 548 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will ensure a copy of our final decision is considered by the Children’s Policy Development & Scrutiny committee and Portfolio Holder and share a copy of our final decision with all relevant staff, to include dealing with ceasing EHC Plans and transition from EHC Plans to Adult Social Care.

Case Ref: 24 002 318 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• Review how the Council will ensure that it tells complainants of their stage three rights at the end of stage two and remind complaint handling staff that complainants have the right to request a stage three review panel if they remain unhappy.

Case Ref: 24 001 796 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council agreed to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the training it has delivered to its Spedical Educational Needs (SEN) Transport Team to ensure it follows its processes when considering any suspensions from its SEN transport in future.

Case Ref: 24 001 450 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to review six cases from 2023 and 2024 where we found similar fault with Education, Health, and Care Plan timescales, and recommended reminders to its staff. It will:produce a dated action plan of how it will avoid recurrence of the same faults by making changes to practice and procedure or staff training; and report this review outcome and action plan to its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Governance Board so it can decide how progress against the plan should be monitored.

Case Ref: 23 020 783 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• Share this decision with relevant staff and remind them that the Council remains responsible for repairs in temporary accommodation.

Case Ref: 23 018 894 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will circulate this decision to remind staff dealing with homelessness applications of the circumstances in which the main housing duty should apply and where review rights should be offered.