Case Ref: 24 006 542 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• By training or other means, remind officers that they should promptly assess the risk to applicants and decide without delay whether their accommodation remains suitable to occupy in the event they disclose they are at risk of domestic abuse.
• Ensure the Council has a process to identify and escalate complaints about homelessness and housing which have exceeded the corporate complaints procedure’s timescales for a response. This is to ensure the Council responds to complaints in accordance with the timescales set out in the Council’s corporate complaints procedure and without significant delay.
• Share the learning from this complaint with officers responsible for temporary accommodation and repairs in the Council’s interim and temporary accommodation, including accommodation procured from private landlords. This is to ensure officers are aware that the failure to respond to requests for service or questions may hinder the Council’s duty to provide suitable interim and temporary accommodation.

Case Ref: 24 002 094 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind its special educational needs and disability staff to ensure decisions on whether to cease, maintain, or amend existing Education, Health, and Care plans are at all times issued within statutory timescales to parents. Including ensuring this is clearly recorded on the child’s or young person’s case record.

Case Ref: 24 001 238 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will remind social workers and managers in the adult social care team of the importance of keeping clear, complete and contemporaneous records of best interests meetings, including the matters considered, its decision-making process and the outcomes and actions.

Case Ref: 24 001 095 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure that homeless applicants who are not computer literate, are communicated with effectively either by using a postal address, or where the applicant has a representative, by sharing key decision letters with them.

Case Ref: 23 020 130 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• The Council will issue written reminders to relevant officers to ensure they are aware they must have a coordinated approach to how they address complaints, especially when several departments are involved.
• The Council will issue written reminders to staff in the leaving care service to ensure they are aware they must put arrangements in place for checking suitability before a young person moves into a property.

Case Ref: 23 019 545 Category: Other Categories Sub Category: Commercial and contracts

• The Council has agreed to review how its tenancy, parking and garage services keep records of customer contact and how they are monitored to ensure responses/action are done.

Case Ref: 23 018 324 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council agreed to review the faults identified in this case and produce an action plan for changes it will make to its housing service procedures, to ensure it:properly considers the suitability of interim and temporary accommodation offered to homeless applicants;where a complaint is about the suitability of temporary accommodation for a homeless applicant, considers this via the correct statutory review procedure rather than responding via the complaints procedure;where a complaint is upheld, ensures promised actions are completed;responds to complaints within the timescales set out in its complaints procedure; and directs to the correct Ombudsman service when it issues its final complaint response.

Case Ref: 23 018 175 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• The Council has agreed to remind complaints officers to provide complaint responses in the timescales set out in the Council’s corporate complaints policy.
• The Council has agreed to remind relevant officers to ensure planning conditions are met before they are discharged to the developer.

Case Ref: 23 015 543 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• The Council will remind relevant officers and managers of the need to progress planning enforcement cases without avoidable delay. This will help to ensure that those who have reported issues are not left waiting for action to be taken or for a decision on the Council's stance to be made.
• The Council will remind relevant officers and managers of the content of the Council’s own planning enforcement policy and how it should communicate with and update those who have reported issues to it. This will help to ensure those who have reported potential breaches will be informed of what is happening in clear and timely manner.

Case Ref: 23 015 289 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• Remind staff of the Council’s duty to consider reasonable adjustments for service users