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 1 - 3 of 3 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 (23 001 581)

    Category: Housing Date: 31-Aug-2023

    Summary

    Miss X complained her temporary accommodation, provided by the Council is unsuitable due to her needs, its size and its disrepair. Miss X also complained about her allocation banding and she feels it should be higher. She says this has impacted her health and the health of her family. There was fault in the way the Council did not ensure issues in the temporary accommodation were fixed in a timely manner. Miss X was frustrated by the delay. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment.

    Service improvements

    Remind relevant staff of the importance of providing accurate information when writing to people.

  • 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 (22 011 788)

    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

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