Case Ref: 22 015 080 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Housing benefit and council tax benefit

• The Council agreed to share a copy of our final decision with all staff who work in its benefits, debt management, and complaints teams. It will remind them of the Council’s duties under the Equality Act 2010, including the reasonable adjustment duty.

Case Ref: 22 014 459 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will remind staff to give proper scrutiny to any relevant supporting evidence and explain their reasons for not relying on evidence where they decide not to.

Case Ref: 22 012 788 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Antisocial behaviour

• The Council agreed that it would update its website to include information on what legal powers are potentially available to it to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Case Ref: 22 012 079 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council agreed to remind staff in its adult care services about the importance of record keeping and ensuring proper oversight when using third party care providers.
• The Council agreed to follow up with the National Autistic Society to ensure it has plans in place to support residents who enter the criminal justice system.

Case Ref: 22 011 300 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• The Council has agreed to review its procedures for dealing with complaints to ensure that, in future, it:•Decides from the outset whether a complaint should be considered under the statutory complaints procedure or through an alternative procedure.•Recognises that complaints about decisions to initiate care and supervision orders, and about the accuracy or quality of social work information which has gone to court, do fall within the statutory complaints procedure. •Does not switch complaint procedures part-way through. If a council accepts a complaint under the statutory complaints procedure it should complete this to the complainant’s satisfaction.

Case Ref: 22 010 542 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Housing benefit and council tax benefit

• The council should provide an action plan stating how it will reduce delays in dealing with discretionary housing payment claims and review requests.

Case Ref: 22 010 351 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will devise written procedures for co-operation between its housing and adult social care departments.

Case Ref: 22 005 648 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to review its record-keeping to ensure it keeps complete records of all contact, action and decisions on housing applicant’s files.
• The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure that tenants waiting for a direct offer are regularly updated, and are not prevented from bidding without good cause.

Case Ref: 22 010 132 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• By training or otherwise, remind officers of the requirements of the enforcement plan to keep complainants informed of the progress and outcome of investigations.

Case Ref: 22 007 171 Category: Housing Sub Category: Private housing

• The Council agreed to remind officers of the need to give landlords enough information about the lease renewal process and the reasons for any temporary delay with it.
• The Council agreed to remind officers of the importance of ensuring action promised in correspondence about lease renewal is carried out.