Case Ref: 25 007 795 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council has agreed to:• Review its Shared Lives policy/procedures to ensure clear decision-making and communication when carers request placements to end due to risk or breakdown of relationship or perceived risk, including how the service will operate where legal constraints (such as Court of Protection involvement) affect the timing of any move.

Case Ref: 25 000 787 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Within four weeks of our final decision the Council will Remind staff that any complaints about unsuitable temporary accommodation should be treated as a review request.

Case Ref: 24 021 231 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will share with the Ombudsman the steps it has taken to ensure it responds to requests and communication for suitability review requests, requests to join its housing register, and issues decisions with relevant review rights without delay. This includes circumstances where officers are absent or on leave.
• The Council will share with the Ombudsman the Council’s plans to address delays in its complaint handling process due to a high demand for its services. If no plan is yet in place, the Council should set out an action plan to ensure it can adhere to the timescales set out in its corporate complaints policy.

Case Ref: 24 015 794 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will review this case to identify what action it will take to prevent future occurrences of delay in awarding provisional points to housing register applications.
• The Council will send a memo to staff handling housing register applications reminding them that letters to housing applicants advising them their application has been deactivated should explain why.

Case Ref: 24 014 104 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Consider why it took so long to address Mr X’s concerns about his accommodation and decide whether it owed him the main housing duty. The Council should report back to the Ombudsman with steps it will take to improve its procedures so others are not affected in the same way.

Case Ref: 24 009 098 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will issue staff briefings to:•Remind relevant staff care assessments should be carried out over an appropriate and reasonable timescale.•Remind relevant staff service users should be kept informed during the assessment process about how long the assessment will take and what the process will involve.•Ensure relevant staff are properly trained and understand when a service user may need an independent advocate arranged or a different approach considered to help the assessment process.This will help to ensure care assessments are carried out in a timely manner and in a way that is suitable for the service user and keeps them informed.

Case Ref: 24 009 076 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Residential care

• The Council will share the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation with senior officers to identify points of learning and improvement. The Council will prepare a written report, setting out its findings, conclusions and any improvements it proposes to make to its safeguarding procedures. It will share a copy of this report with the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 24 007 618 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council shouldproduce an action plan to address the fault this investigation found.Specifically, failures to properly assess a person's need for support under s117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in a holistic, adequate way. The plan should seek to identify and implement specific andrealistic ways of improving its processes to help avoid recurrences.

Case Ref: 24 008 305 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to remind homelessness staff that once they become aware that a person may be homeless, eligible and in priority need, it is under a duty to provide them with interim accommodation from that point and the Ombudsman would be critical of any delay.
• The Council has agreed to outline what action it has taken to improve its timeliness in carrying out statutory reviews of homelessness decisions.
• The Council has agreed to remind homelessness staff of the importance of sending out duty letters and personalised housing plans so that applicants have a record of the steps the Council is taking, and they can take, to relieve their homelessness.

Case Ref: 24 006 852 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to ensure frontline staff are aware that a homeless application can be made to anydepartment and refer people who indicate they may be homeless or threatenedwith homelessness to the relevant department for advice and assistance. It will provideguidance or training as necessary
• The Council will, using this case as an example, provide training or guidance to frontline staffon their role in safeguarding and the process for making a safeguardingreferral.