Case Ref: 25 006 657 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will review its policy and procedures to ensure it retains oversight and control of its section 19 duty. The Council has a duty to retain responsibility for ensuring children receive suitable education, even where they remain on the school roll and ensuring it considers whether the Council should arrange alternative provision for a child, even when it is trying to find a new school place for that child.

Case Ref: 25 004 077 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council was at fault for delay in arranging the special educational provision in a young person's Education, Health and Care Plan. It also failed to carry out two annual reviews of their Plan and delayed issuing an amended Plan. The Council will share this decision with staff who carry out Education, Health and Care Plan annual reviews. The Council should highlight that an appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal does not relieve the Council of its duties to carry out an annual review of a child or young person's Education, Health and Care Plan.

Case Ref: 25 000 528 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• the Council has agreed to review its process for considering whether a person is vulnerable as a result of having served a custodial sentence, been committed for contempt of court or remanded in custody to ensure;• it reflects the Code of Guidance regarding the relevant information to be taken into account when making these decisions; and• guidance to officers is clear about the process they should follow, the relevant information to be obtained and how they should record their decisions.
• the Council has agreed to report to us on the improvements made to the delivery of temporary accommodation through its “Setting the Standards” project.
• the Council has agreed to review its:• complaint handling process to identify the reasons for the delay inthis case and any changes it should make to ensure complaints are handledwithin the published timescale; and• statutory review process to identify the reasons for the failures in this case to process Mr X’s review within the required timescale and properly address the issues raised.

Case Ref: 24 022 774 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind relevant staff of the need for accurate record keeping to ensure relevant documents are saved to pupils' files.
• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has recruited permanent special educational needs staff members.
• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has implemented a new customer standard that all communication is responded to within five working days.
• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has improved its commissioning arrangements in relation to special educational needs.

Case Ref: 24 021 003 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• • Provide guidance to staff that an EHC Plan is not essential for a successful blue badge application in respect of a child.

Case Ref: 24 017 728 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide training or guidance on remedying injustice to staff responsible for responding to complaints at both stages of the Council’s complaint process with reference to the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies.

Case Ref: 24 015 858 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• the Council should:• issue guidance to officers in its homelessness department. The guidance should explain:- upon receipt of new and potentially relevant evidence, officers should promptly review any decision they have made about an applicant’s priority need, or any other part of the eligibility criteria for homelessness duties. They should make a clear record of their decision and the reasons for it; and- the legal basis of the ‘reason to believe’ threshold and what it means in practice.The Council should circulate a copy of this decision to officers as part of this guidance.

Case Ref: 24 015 455 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will share this decision with staff responsible for dealing with offers of interim accommodation to identify learning and prevent a recurrence of the fault we found.

Case Ref: 24 012 404 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Antisocial behaviour

• The Council should send written reminders to relevant staff to signpost complainants to the anti-social behaviour case review process after a complainant has made a number of reports and continues to be dissatisfied with the outcome.

Case Ref: 24 008 966 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will remind relevant members of staff that when they issue a decision on a person's housing application, they must include information on that person's right of review. This must happen regardless of whether the decision is included in the Council's complaint response.