Service improvements

London Borough of Bromley

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024

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 11 - 17 of 17 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 (22 015 686)

    Category: Housing Date: 18-Jun-2023

    Summary

    Miss X complained about the way the Council handled her housing application. She said the Council failed to provide her with accommodation that met her needs since she became disabled and was diagnosed with a terminal illness in the summer of 2021. There was fault in how the Council considered Miss X’s housing needs and handled her application, which meant Miss X remained in an unsuitable property for 20 months. The Council agreed to apologise to Miss X, pay her a symbolic amount of £11,000 and offer her the next suitable available property, as the evidence shows she is likely to have already missed out on at least one property due to fault by the Council.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff dealing with housing register applications of the need to consider if there is reason to believe an applicant may be homeless or at risk of homelessness, and if so that the Council considers whether it owes a homeless duty and writes to the applicant with its decision and relevant rights of review and appeal.The Council will provide guidance to relevant staff about when an Occupational Therapy assessment to understand complex housing needs may be needed and remind them of the importance of recording how this is considered.The Council will remind relevant staff to consider, and document its consideration, whether a case should be dealt with outside of the housing allocations policy; and remind officers responding to complaints to clearly communicate what the next step in the complaint process is and to respond to all communications within the timescales set out in the complaints policy.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 015 630)

    Category: Education Date: 14-Nov-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the Council’s actions in relation to her child’s, Y, Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) and when Y was unable to attend school. The Council was at fault for failing to respond to Mrs X’s request for a reassessment of Y’s needs and support in the EHC Plan. It was also at fault for how it managed the annual review process and for delaying action when it became aware Y was not attending school. This caused Mrs X frustration and uncertainty. The Council has already apologised to Mrs X for some of the fault. The Council has agreed to extend its apology and provide Mrs X with a symbolic payment. It will remind staff to issue decision letters and review with staff the timescales of amending and issuing final EHC Plans in line with legislation. The Council will also review with staff its statutory duty in relation to children absent from school.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff to action a parent’s request for a reassessment of Education, Health and Care Plan needs and support and to notify them within 15 days of the request of its decisionThe Council will remind staff to notify parents of its decision following an Education, Health and Care Plan annual review meeting.The Council will review with staff the timescale of amending Education, Health and Care Plans and finalising them, in line with legislation.The Council will review with staff the importance of not delaying action as soon as it becomes aware a child is not attending school because of illness or other reasons.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 015 417)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 29-Jun-2023

    Summary

    Mr B complained about persistent problems with the Council’s garden waste collection service. We upheld the complaint, finding the Council missed opportunities to resolve the problems Mr B reported. This caused Mr B avoidable frustration, inconvenience and put him to unnecessary time and trouble. The Council accepts these findings. At the end of this statement, we set out action it has agreed to remedy this injustice and improve its service.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed that it would remind relevant officers who deal with complaints of repeated missed waste collections to consider if they should enter a property on a ‘special requirement list’ kept by the Council and contractors where there have been repeated problems with collection. This reminder would cover cases where problems relate to an unusual property location or layout, as the list is also used to identify properties where occupiers have extra needs.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 014 763)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 16-Aug-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council failed to properly respond to his queries about care fees. We found there was significant fault in the way the Council responded. We recommended an apology, a payment to Mr X and actions to review and improve the service provided.

    Service improvements

    The Council should review the way in which Liberata responds to queries from service users, what service level agreements are in place for responding to customer queries and how the Council will ensure that the service provided is acceptable in future.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 013 945)

    Category: Education Date: 31-Aug-2023

    Summary

    The Council failed to provide alternative education when a child was unable to attend school for mental health reasons and took thirteen months, instead of twenty weeks, to issue a final EHC plan. This was fault and led to a child missing out on education and placed additional strain on their parent carer. The Council will apologise, make a financial payment and carry out service improvements. The complaint is upheld.

    Service improvements

    The Council has wrongly advised that schools, not the Council, hold responsibility for providing s.19 education. The Council has agreed in a previous investigation to provide updated training. The Council should use the training opportunity to ask officers to identify other cases where s.19 education may not have been provided, and provide a remedy to other families identified.The Council should update and clarify its information for schools so cases where pupils have been long term absent and s.19 education is not in place can be identified and report the situation to the relevant scrutiny committee.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 011 788)

    Category: Housing Date: 14-Jun-2023

    Summary

    there was fault in the way the Council considered Miss X’s homelessness application and met her need for interim accommodation. There was further fault in the way it responded when she reported she had been assaulted at her temporary accommodation by neighbours. It also failed to liaise with a Housing Association that was managing works at a private leased property allocated to Miss X. These faults caused Miss X and her children significant distress and hardship. The Council has agreed to provide a suitable financial remedy for Miss X and make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to revise the wording in the template letter accepting the main housing duty to inform homeless applicants of their right to request a statutory review of the suitability of temporary accommodation.Review its guidance to officers about when to make further enquiries and, where appropriate, request evidence from the police when a household in temporary accommodation has reported a serious threat or assault;Review guidance to officers about the circumstances when it isappropriate to make a safeguarding referral to Children’s ServicesArrange a briefing with all relevant officers to make them aware of the reviewed guidance and good practice

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 001 040)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 05-Apr-2023

    Summary

    Mrs D complained on behalf of her mother, Mrs X, about faults in hospital discharge, residential care, community therapy services, equipment provision and complaint handling. The complaint is about the actions of London Borough of Bromley (the Council), Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KCH Trust), Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust (Oxleas Trust); Bromley Healthcare CIC Ltd (Bromley Healthcare); and Sundridge Court Nursing Home. We upheld the complaints about the Council and Sundridge Court that relate to hospital discharge, residential care and complaint handling. The Council and Sundridge Court accepted our recommendations, so we have completed our investigation.

    Service improvements

    The Council will discuss with relevant staff the process for dealing with adult social complaints that may involve elements of health care and related guidance. It will provide the Ombudsman with documentary evidence of the discussion.

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