Case Ref: 24 001 174 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• Remind staff of the Council’s responsibility to objectively consider the suitability of education arranged by a school for a child who cannot attend because of health problems.
• Remind staff of the Council’s duty to carry out annual reviews within 12 months of the issue of final Education, Health and Care Plans.
• Remind staff of the Council’s duty to ensure a child or young person with an Education, Health and Care Plan receives the special educational provision as set out in the plan.
• Remind staff to adhere to the council’s complaints procedure

Case Ref: 24 000 058 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• •Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling.

Case Ref: 23 018 546 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transition from childrens services

• By training or other means, share the learning from this complaint with relevant officers. This is to ensure they are aware of the Council’s duty to carry out the transition assessment when it is of significant benefit to the service user, to carry out the assessment within a reasonable timescale and to consider co-ordinating the transition assessment with an EHC plan annual review where applicable.
• Review its procedures for stopping children’s services direct payments when the service user turns 18 to ensure checks are made to prevent direct payments being ended if an adult care package is not yet in place. This is to prevent a gap in provision between children’s and adult care services.
• Review its complaint handling procedures to track when complaint responses are sent to the complainant. This is to ensure officers are aware a response has been issued

Case Ref: 23 018 436 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to provide training or guidance to relevant officers on the procedures to follow when an applicant has been selected for a direct let. In particular, it will ensure officers properly consider any bids the applicant makes.

Case Ref: 23 016 137 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• The Council failed to provide evidence it had considered an objection by a member to a decision to vary a planning application would be unlawful. The Council has agreed to review what happened and decide whether any changes are necessary to practice and procedure and additional training is necessary. The Council will report the findings of the review its relevant oversight and scrutiny committee.

Case Ref: 23 015 730 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• By training or other means, ensure officers notify an applicant of the reasons for findings that do not go in an applicant’s favour in the review decision letter.

Case Ref: 23 014 746 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• The Council has agreed to review how it ensures that Special Guardianship Order cases are transferred to the long term kinship team.
• The Council has agreed to arrange for an interdepartmental meeting to review current internal expectations and agreements. This should be with a view to ensuring that departments have accurate expectations of each other and do not give false expectations to service users about what each department can provide.
• The Council has agreed to review how it can ensure that it communicates with Social Care service users about expectations of support, and how it can avoid making agreements of support before identifying whether the support is achievable. This should have particular focus on how officers and managers clarify whether support is achievable.
• The Council will review how the Council will ensure the Housing department are evidencing how and when it is considering exercising discretion on applications to the housing register.
• The Council will share a copy of the final decision with the relevant social care and housing mangers

Case Ref: 23 014 678 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to provide us with an action plan which sets out how, in future, it will avoid similar delays to its panel hearings and similar failures to consider reviews of needs assessments.

Case Ref: 23 014 223 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council has agreed to issue a memo reminding officers handling reablement requests of the requirement to provide free reablement care for up to six weeks whether or not there are eligible care needs for ongoing care and support.

Case Ref: 23 013 383 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• Complete an action plan detailing the timeline to confirm when the corrective action will be completed. Ensure there is senior officer oversight of progress to ensure no further delays occur.