Service improvements

London Borough of Bromley

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

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 - 10 of 13 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for London Borough of Bromley as a CSV file.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 011 091)

    Category: Education Date: 16-Mar-2023

    Summary

    Ms X complained that the Council delayed in securing a school place for her son, C, and failed to put in place alternative education in the interim. We found the Council was at fault in failing to chase up a school place for C with the school it had identified under the Fair Access Protocol. It also failed to put in place alternative provision while the matter was resolved. As a result, C lost three months’ education and Ms X suffered distress and inconvenience. In recognition of the injustice caused the Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to her.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to issue a written reminder to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of the Council’s duties under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide alternative education for children where there is no suitable available education which is reasonably practicable for the child to access.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 009 403)

    Category: Housing Date: 22-Feb-2023

    Summary

    We found fault on Ms J’s complaint about the Council failing to properly act on her reports about the condition of her privately rented house. There is no evidence of it assessing whether there were hazards under the housing, health and safety rating system. It needed to do this when considering enforcement under its policy. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind officers of the need to carry out Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessments when reaching decisions about enforcement under its policy.The Council agreed to remind officers of the need to give landlords/agents timescales within which to start and complete works or surveys when pursuing informal enforcement.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 004 474)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 28-Feb-2023

    Summary

    Ms X complains about how the Council assessed her and her home for suitable adaptations. Ms X says the Council reduced the amount it said it would pay towards adaptations, proposed unsuitable adaptations, and delayed in its decision-making. We have found the Council at fault for delays in its decision-making and in its communication with Ms X. We have not found fault in how the Council made its decisions or that it reduced available funding. We have made recommendations to remedy the injustice to Ms X.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind officers of the importance in adhering to timescales for complex cases, as set out in the Disabled Facilities Grants guidance.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 001 138)

    Category: Education Date: 19-Oct-2022

    Summary

    Ms X complained about delays with getting professional advice and issuing an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) for her daughter (Z). She also complained about the Council’s unsatisfactory communication throughout the EHCP process. Ms X said the Council’s failings had detrimental effect on Z at the critical stage of her education, caused them distress and resulted in the family’s financial difficulties. We find the Council at fault for failing to comply with the EHCP timescales and to effectively communicate with Ms X. The Council has accepted our recommendations for personal remedies and service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind all Special Educational Needs case officers and their managers of the importance to:comply with the Education and Health Care Plan timescales;involve children or young people and their parents in the Education and Health Care Plan process.The Council will provide the evidence that this has happened.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 001 013)

    Category: Housing Date: 03-Nov-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complains the Council delayed deciding its housing duty and left him unsure about its decision and his rights. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to reasonably explore the circumstances of Mr X’s homelessness application. The Ombudsman also finds fault with the Council for delaying its decision on Mr X’s homelessness application, which delayed Mr X’s right to a suitability review. The Ombudsman does not find fault with the Council for how it provided support to Mr X as someone previously in care. The Council has agreed to pay a financial remedy and carry out service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review how it identifies domestic abuse between family members when homelessness cases are assessed. This should include how staff members identify domestic abuse between family members and how to record this in the assessment.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 000 582)

    Category: Housing Date: 25-Nov-2022

    Summary

    Miss X complains the Council has failed to consider information about her housing application which has resulted in her being offered unsuitable accommodation. The Ombudsman finds find fault with the Council for it how it communicated with Miss X about her eligibility to its housing register. The Ombudsman does find fault with the Council for how it considered any risk posed to Miss X. The Council has agreed to make a payment, a further direct offer of housing and service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review how it manages requests for reciprocal accommodation agreements from other councils to ensure that staff are aware of the agreements and whether applicants qualify for the housing register.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 000 414)

    Category: Education Date: 23-Mar-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complains the Council has failed to provide outreach support for her son Y, as specified in his EHCP. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. Although the Council did allocate direct payments when there was no agency support in place, we have not been able to substantiate that sufficient support was in place all the time. Further, the Council has not kept clear and accurate records which has contributed to confusion and uncertainty in this complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

    Service improvements

    Explain what it will do, where flexible support is provided, to ensure that appropriate record keeping of any arrangements and direct payments is documented. Records should set out how any flexible arrangement is meeting the needs of all children as per the provisions specified in their EHCP.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 000 404)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 13-Dec-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about a delay in the service, commissioned for Mr Y by the Council, seeking medical advice following a sudden change in his mobility. She also complained about the response to her complaint about this. She says Mr Y was not the same person after these events and it caused the family “emotional damage”. We find the Care Provider did delay seeking medical advice and the Council’s safeguarding enquiry could have been better. We recommended the Council apologise, pay Mrs X £500 and reimburse Mr Y’s contribution to his care for a short period. It should also make sure safeguarding enquiries do not just accept a Care Provider’s findings without question. The Council has agreed to do this.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to ensure that safeguarding enquiries do not just assume the position as determined by the Care Provider, but properly question events and seek other information to support this where possible.

  • London Borough of Bromley (21 011 678)

    Category: Education Date: 19-Jun-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to secure alternative education, including provision from his son’s Education, Health and Care plan, after it found out in June 2021 that his son was no longer able to attend school. The Council was at fault for the delay in securing alternative provision for Mr X’s son. The Council agreed to remedy the injustice its actions caused to Mr X and his son.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review is alternative education provision policies and procedures to ensure is promptly secures alternative provision for children who are not accessing a full-time education in school.

  • London Borough of Bromley (21 011 396)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 25-Aug-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the Council’s actions in relation to child protection matters. The Council was at fault for not considering the allegations of abuse which were made against Mr X before it decided the next appropriate steps to take. The Council has already apologised to Mr X however, the Council has agreed it will also remind staff to properly consider allegations of abuse before it decides on what actions to take.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff to consider allegations of abuse made against someone before they decide what action to take next, for example, before referring the person to a domestic abuse service for perpetrators.

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