Case Ref: 24 004 400 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Residential care

• The Council will issue a written reminder to staff in its complaints team to apply the wording of its complaints policy on late complaints.

Case Ref: 24 003 536 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will review the information it gives staff in its housing service and medical advisors about how to complete medical assessments to ensure it meets the expectations set out in the Ombudsman's focus report 'Medical assessments for housing applications'.

Case Ref: 23 020 724 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will provide evidence the Housing Officer involved has completed refreshed training on how to recognise domestic abuse, and to provide necessary support irrespective of the frequency of domestic abuse incidents.
• The Council will remind all housing officers to complete personalised housing plans properly and thoroughly. In particular, not to leave the section called “What actions/reasonable steps the Housing Options Officer will do next” blank. This is because it is vital that applicants know what the Council has agreed to do to help secure or keep accommodation.

Case Ref: 23 020 048 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council agreed that it would issue a reminder to all relevant staff on the importance of proof-reading letters sent to homeless applicants to stress the importance of including reasons for decisions and to try and avoid basic factual errors.
• The Council also agreed that it would put a procedure or protocol in place to follow up with its medical adviser when waiting for their advice. It would also remind relevant staff of the need to follow such procedure or protocol. This would be to avoid applicants experiencing delay in finding out the outcome of a request for medical priority points under its housing allocation policy.

Case Ref: 23 019 982 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind staff in its Special Educational Needs and Disability Service to ensure: 1. the statutory timescales for the Education, Health, and Care plan process following annual reviews are always adhered to. Including in circumstances where it receives late request for further educational needs provision from parents; and 2. requests from parents are responded to and views from schools or other professionals are sought without delay. This is to ensure good communication with those involved and to avoid unnecessary delays in the process.

Case Ref: 23 018 981 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to remind homelessness staff that the advice they offer applicants fleeing domestic abuse must set out all their housing options so they can make an informed choice. This should include all options they may have to join the housing register, in particular under the reasonable preference categories set out in section 166 of the Housing Act.

Case Ref: 23 018 182 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Friends and family carers

• The Council will provide evidence of the following:the Council raising the importance of engaging with foster carers even when children or young people do now want to meet their social workers;the Council sharing Miss X’s suggestion that fostering training should cover what happens when things go wrong, or placements break down. The Council should also provide the outcome of this.

Case Ref: 23 013 997 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Other

• By training or other means, remind relevant staff to ensure they take debtors’ individual circumstances into account and to avoid adopting a blanket approach when setting up debtors’ payment plans.

Case Ref: 23 009 637 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Establish a standardised policy between it, and all managing agents responsible for resolving disrepair. The policy should set out clear service level agreements for work to be completed and give the Council oversight over the presence of reported disrepair, and the completion of works. It is expected that such a policy would prevent similar occurrences where the Council has a lack of oversight over reported disrepair and can proactively take action to resolve any delay.

Case Ref: 23 009 558 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will review the way it covers its housing department’s staff holidays or absences. When an officer goes on leave, their caseload should be covered so homeless people are not left waiting.
• The Council will share a copy of this decision and the Ombudsman’s published focus report, “More Home Truths – learning lessons from complaints about the Homelessness Reduction Act” (published March 2023) with relevant staff, and discuss them at both an appropriate team meeting and a management meeting.