Service improvements

London Borough of Croydon

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026

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 - 18 of 18 cases with service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 012 078)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 21-May-2025

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council provided an inadequate refuse service for her clinical waste. The Council was at fault for poor record keeping, failing to investigate Mrs X’s concerns appropriately and for providing inaccurate information about changes to its service. This caused Mrs X avoidable frustration and uncertainty for which the Council will apologise and pay £150. It will also update the information available to residents on what waste can go in general waste bins.

    Service improvements

    The Council will issue letters to residents who used its clinical waste service to dispose of their stoma bags before April 2025 to clarify that as of April, they can dispose of the bags in general waste.The Council will update its website on bins and recycling to remove stoma bags from the list of infectious or hazardous waste.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 011 655)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 11-Jun-2025

    Summary

    Ms C complains about the Council’s decision to reduce her sister’s direct payment. I have found no procedural fault in the way the Council has reached its decision. It is however at fault for failing to address all Ms C’s complaints. To remedy the complaint the Council has agreed to apologise to Ms C and make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will:a) remind staff dealing with complaints about addressing all substantive complaints;b) remind relevant staff through a staff circular or team meetings about when to offer carer’s assessments and ensuring requests are followed through.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 010 129)

    Category: Education Date: 19-Jun-2025

    Summary

    Mx X complains the Council did not deal properly with her daughter Y’s education because it did not provide alternative education and she says Y lost education provision. The Council did not properly consider whether it should provide s19 alternative education for Y. Y suffered loss of educational provision and opportunity for 3 months. The Council should apologise and Pay Mx X £1,800 for loss of education provision.

    Service improvements

    Provide guidance to staff to consider any action required under the Council’s statutory duties when it becomes aware of non-attendance at schools, with reference to the Ombudsman's Focus Report ‘Out of school, out of sight?’ published in July 2022 and to record all actions, communication and decision making as part of this consideration.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 009 654)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 13-Apr-2025

    Summary

    Miss X complains the Council has failed to assess her needs as her son’s carer properly, leaving her without support. The Council was at fault over the way it did her 2024 carer’s assessment. It needs to apologise, make a symbolic payment to her, and reassess her needs as her son’s carer. The Council also needs to take action to improve its working practices.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to take action to ensure: carer’s assessments are carried out in a transparent way; people are given an opportunity to correct any errors with their assessment; and any disputes over a person’s needs are addressed in the assessment.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 009 003)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 15-Apr-2025

    Summary

    Mrs X complained, on behalf of her husband Mr X, about how the Council dealt with her request for help with Mr X’s care home placement. There was fault in how the Council assessed Mr X’s needs and how it planned his care and support. This led to significant avoidable distress to Mr X and Mrs X; and also affected Mr X’s mental health. The Council agreed to apologise, issue an amended care and support plan for Mr X, and pay both Mr and Mrs X a financial remedy. It also agreed to review its practices and arrange training for its staff.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review its policy and practices around its use of approval panels for packages of social care. The review will:be undertaken by a senior Council officer;ensure the Council's policy, panel terms of reference and practices comply with the law and statutory guidance, including an emphasis on individual wellbeing and person-centred care planning, rather than financial considerations; andshare its report and any recommendations with the responsible elected member and/or scrutiny panel.The Council agreed to arrange training for all relevant adult social care staff (including managers) on the principles of person-centred care planning, offering choice ofc are home placements and the requirements for third-party top-ups.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 007 257)

    Category: Housing Date: 12-Oct-2025

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to provide her with suitable accommodation. We found fault with the Council for the delay in offering Mrs X and her family alternative accommodation. We also found fault in the way the Council communicated with Mrs X and dealt with her complaint. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Mrs X and her family. The Council has agreed to apologise and make symbolic payments. The Council has already taken action to ensure no families with children are housed in accommodation with shared facilities. The Council is also improving its complaint handling. The Council has agreed some further service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind its housing staff of the importance to regularly communicate with its service users and respond to any queries. The Council will provide the evidence that this has happened.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 007 083)

    Category: Housing Date: 02-Apr-2025

    Summary

    We have found the Council at fault for failing to provide Miss X and her family with suitable accommodation for an extended period of time. This caused them avoidable injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice.

    Service improvements

    Show that it has reviewed and improved its complaint handling procedure and record keeping since 2023.Remind staff of the 6 week deadline for moving women who are pregnant and/or with dependent children out of B&B accommodation.

  • London Borough of Croydon (24 005 585)

    Category: Housing Date: 05-May-2025

    Summary

    Miss B complained that the Council mishandled her homelessness application. We have found the Council at fault for delays in processing Miss B’s application and providing inconsistent information. These faults caused Miss B uncertainty, distress and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B, make a symbolic payment and complete service improvements to remedy the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council will issue a reminder to all its staff to remind them of the Council's duty to accept a homelessness application through any department.The Council will issue a reminder to all its staff of the correct process to follow when a member of any department has reason to believe a person may be homeless or threatened with homelessness.The Council will remind its housing team of the Council's complaint policy timeframes for issuing housing complaint responses.

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