Service improvements

London Borough of Hillingdon

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 1 - 5 of 5 cases with service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Hillingdon (25 002 684)

    Category: Housing Date: 04-Feb-2026

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council delayed in providing her with interim accommodation when she presented to it as homeless. The Council was at fault for delay, meaning Miss X spent around a month in unsuitable accommodation. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X, make a payment to reflect the injustice, and act to prevent recurrence.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind housing staff of their responsibilities regarding the need to provide interim accommodation and the low threshold the Homelessness Code of Guidance sets, explicitly directing councils to make interim accommodation available while it undertakes investigations.

  • London Borough of Hillingdon (24 016 443)

    Category: Housing Date: 23-Sep-2025

    Summary

    We have found fault with the Council for how it handled Mrs X’s homelessness application, housing register application and reports of property disrepair. This caused Mrs X and her son avoidable distress and meant they remained in unsuitable accommodation that affected her son’s health. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy Mrs X’s avoidable injustice.

    Service improvements

    Remind staff of the statutory decision-making procedures and the need to inform applicants of their right to review.

  • London Borough of Hillingdon (24 011 980)

    Category: Housing Date: 03-Apr-2025

    Summary

    On behalf of Mr X, Mrs B complained the Council poorly handled Mr X’s homelessness application. Mrs B says this caused Mr X distress. We find the Council at fault for a delay in opening a new application for Mr X. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mr X and remind its staff of when the Council should carry out homelessness assessments.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind its housing staff of the Council's duty to carry out an assessment once it has reason to believe that a person may be homeless or threatened with homelessness within the next 56 days.

  • London Borough of Hillingdon (24 009 792)

    Category: Housing Date: 22-Apr-2025

    Summary

    Miss X complained about how the Council handled her homelessness after she received an eviction notice in 2024. The Council was at fault. It failed to take steps to alleviate her risk of homelessness and delayed moving her to interim accommodation. This meant Miss X remained in a property at risk of eviction and homelessness for longer than necessary. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss X to recognise the distress and uncertainty this caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind officers of the importance of notifying homelessness applicants of the correct homelessness duty and ensuring the Council accepts and ends the correct duties at relevant times.The Council agreed to review its procedures around how it deals with homelessness applicants who have been issued with a Section 21 eviction notice so its approach is in line with the Homelessness Code of Guidance and the correct homelessness duty is considered at the time. It should ensure applicants are not required to stay in accommodation until a warrant for eviction is issued.

  • London Borough of Hillingdon (24 008 118)

    Category: Housing Date: 18-May-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council failed to consider or make reasonable adjustments when she asked it for homelessness support. Ms X also said the Council communicated poorly and failed to offer any advice or help with her housing circumstances. We have found the Council at fault for failing to have regard for its duty to consider and make reasonable adjustments in Ms X’s case. We have also found the Council at fault for its communication and for how it managed Ms X’s homelessness approach. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and pay a financial remedy in recognition of her avoidable distress, frustration and uncertainty. The Council has also agreed to provide guidance to officers and review ways it can improve its procedures.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to share the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation and a copy of our focus report Equal access: Getting it right for people with disabilities with relevant officers. This is to highlight wider examples of faults and good practice concerning reasonable adjustments in service delivery.The Council has agreed to review its current homelessness application procedure to identify ways it could actively consider an applicant's need for reasonable adjustments as part of this procedure. The Council will write to the Ombudsman with its conclusions and details of any changes it proposes to make.

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