Service improvements

London Borough of Lambeth

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

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 11 - 19 of 19 cases with service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 011 698)

    Category: Housing Date: 15-May-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council delayed moving him and his family from unsuitable temporary accommodation. He says the Council’s actions have caused avoidable stress and have had a negative impact on his family’s mental health. We found fault in the Council’s actions. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X, provide an opportunity for him to request a review of the suitability of his current temporary accommodation, and make a payment to recognise the injustice identified.

    Service improvements

    •Remind staff to ensure the correct timeframes are given when notifying applicants about their right to request a review

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 010 520)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 08-Jun-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council did not properly consider his application to place a memorial on a relative’s grave. The Council failed to properly consider how its regulations should apply to all sections of the cemetery, and so considered Mr X’s application incorrectly. This resulted in avoidable distress, for which the Council agreed to pay a financial remedy to Mr X. It also agreed to review the memorial rules for this section and the information it provides about permitted memorials.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review how its 2017 cemetery regulations should apply to some sections of its Lambeth cemetery. As part of the review the Council will: consider whether it needs to complete an Equality Impact Assessment or consult with relevant stakeholders, such as existing grave plot owners within the sections; and explain any rule changes to people who have bought a grave plot within the two affected sections since the 2017 regulations were introduced.The Council agreed to review the information it provides about types of memorials allowed in its Lambeth cemetery to ensure people are aware of any restrictions and alternative options before they decide to buy a grave plot.The Council agreed to review its record retention and disposal policy for decision making about cemeteries and crematoria.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 010 122)

    Category: Housing Date: 27-Sep-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained that the Council did not deal effectively with a slug infestation in his temporary accommodation. Mr X said it was unsafe, caused unnecessary distress, and took him time and trouble to resolve. We find the Council at fault, and this fault caused Mr X and his family injustice. The Council will make a payment to Mr X, apologise, and make improvements to its service to prevent a recurrence.

    Service improvements

    the Council will remind staff of their duty to keep written records of section 202 suitability reviews, and to provide copies of these reviews to the resident(s) involved.the Council will remind staff of their duties to tell people complaining about the state of property repair that they have a right to request a formal section 202 suitability review.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 010 042)

    Category: Education Date: 03-Apr-2022

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council wrongly sought to prosecute her for her son’s non-attendance at school. The Council’s failure to properly document how it considered all of the factors and reached the decision to prosecute Miss X for Mr Y’s non-attendance at school, amounts to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

    Service improvements

    The Council has also agreed to provide training/reminders to ensure that staff understand the need to properly record how they have considered the individual circumstances and the reasons for their decisions to prosecute parents.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 010 041)

    Category: Education Date: 20-Apr-2022

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council refused to provide transport support for her sone to attend school. The Council's failure to properly advise Miss X on the availability of transport support and how to formally apply for this amounts to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.

    Service improvements

    The Council has also agreed to •Draft and publish a separate school transport policy setting out the eligibility criteria and process for those seeking school transport support for children who do not have SEN or a disability; •provide reminders/ guidance to ensure staff are aware of the Council’s duties regarding home to school transport for children who do not have SEN or a disability and are able to access and provide and accurate information.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 008 518)

    Category: Housing Date: 18-Apr-2022

    Summary

    Miss X complained about poor conditions and the unsuitability of her temporary accommodation. The Council was at fault because it knew the managing agents had not carried out repairs and it did not properly assess and meet Miss X’s need for disabled adaptations. As a result, Miss X suffered injustice for which the Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy.

    Service improvements

    Council will review template letters used when making offers of temporary accommodation under section 193 main housing duty to ensure they inform applicant of their right to request a review of suitability.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 008 465)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 07-Jun-2022

    Summary

    Mr Y complained the Council did not provide adult social care support, which meant he was homeless, destitute and his mental health deteriorated. There were faults in the assessments of Mr Y’s care needs and in the Council’s human rights assessment. However, there is some uncertainty about whether the outcome would have been different but for those faults. The Council should pay Mr Y £500 to recognise that uncertainty and review its processes to prevent recurrence.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its processes for dealing with requests from homeless adults without recourse to public funds and share its learning with relevant staff.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 007 663)

    Category: Housing Date: 18-Apr-2022

    Summary

    There was fault by the Council in how it dealt with Miss B’s housing situation. It failed to send important decision letters or delayed in doing so, which meant that Miss B missed out on her right to ask the Council to review its decisions. It cannot show that it agreed a personal housing plan with her and it did not respond properly to her requests that it put these things right. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and share this decision with its staff.

    Service improvements

    Share this decision with its relevant staff

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 005 087)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 29-Aug-2022

    Summary

    Mr B complained the Council failed to keep his daughter safe while she was known to its children’s services. We upheld the complaint noting an earlier investigation had found fault in its case management. In addition, we found fault in how the Council responded to findings resulting from that earlier investigation. As a result, Mr B suffered injustice mainly in the form of distress. The Council accepted these findings and agreed action to remedy this injustice, set out in detail at the end of this statement.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to carry out an audit of cases which had been through Stage 2 of the statutory procedure for investigating complaints about Children's Services to ensure it was now following up on agreed actions in a timely way. This followed its failure to do so in this case.The Council agreed that it would ensure relevant staff were briefed on the importance of following the pan-London child protection procedures and Multi Agency Public Protection Protocols on working with sex offenders. Also, to follow pan-London protocols on transferring cases between authorities. As a key learning point from this complaint was that these procedures had not been followed in this case.The Council agreed it would review its current procedure for keeping in touch with parents whose children are on a child protection plan and who do not live with the child, to ensure it has effective communication in place to share relevant decisions and reports.

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