Case Ref: 19 015 348 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will produce a charging policy document and make it available to the public on its website.

Case Ref: 19 014 383 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to remind relevant officers of the definition of domestic violence included in the Homeless Code of Guidance.
• The Council has agreed to review the way it keeps track of complaints and review requests and make improvements to ensure responses are provided within the required timeframes.
• The Council has agreed to review the way it handles homelessness applications to ensure it does not delay completing its enquiries and deciding whether to accept the main housing duty.

Case Ref: 19 011 274 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Fostering

• The Council will review its section on specialist foster carers in its Financial policy for carers to provide clarity on those who may qualify to include children who may need additional care such as those with disabilities and health conditions.

Case Ref: 19 011 190 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Ensure officers follow the Council’s procedure for investigating allegations anti social behaviour in interim/temporary accommodation and ensures adequate records are kept of the investigation.

Case Ref: 19 007 168 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will review its procedures to ensure the Council promptly takes a homelessness application when a person can no longer occupy their property due to domestic violence or other reasons and reactivate their housing application if appropriate. The Council should inform the Ombudsman of the action taken to improve its practice in this area

Case Ref: 19 006 556 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• The Council have agreed to inform the LGSCO what steps are taken to ensure better handling of complaints.

Case Ref: 18 018 921 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• The Council should: Consider training to ensure that officers who work with care - leavers who are embarking on a programme of education and/training, undertake effective pathway planning and support at the early stages.
• Complete an audit of cases where the Council has refused to progress cases to stage three, covering the period of January 2019 to January 2020. It should review those decisions. If it considers, in the light of the findings made in this decision, that it has made other errors, it should write to those affected, informing it of the Ombudsman’s findings and offering a suitable remedy for any misdirection. It should ensure that the complainant was directed to the Ombudsman in all cases. The Council should provide evidence to the Ombudsman that it has complied with all of the above recommendations.