Service improvements

London Borough of Lambeth

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

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 - 6 of 6 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 (21 005 670)

    Category: Housing Date: 24-Feb-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council wrongly placed her in a temporary accommodation which was not properly set up for the individual billing of utilities and council tax. We found the Council at fault for placing Mrs X in the accommodation without ensuring it was properly set up for individual billing, and its failure to resolve the matters when she brought it to it and its Agent’s attention. The Council agreed to apologise and make payment to Mrs X. It also agreed for it, or its Agent, to take responsibility for her utility and council tax costs until the individual billing issues are resolved.

    Service improvements

    e)remind it staff the Council remains responsible for the actions taken by its Housing and Temporary Accommodation Agent on its behalf, or as part of the exercise of the Council’s functions; and f)remind its Agent to ensure it only places individuals in temporary accommodations which have been set up to facilitate individual billing of utilities and council tax, unless in circumstances where such charges are included in the rent.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (21 004 301)

    Category: Housing Date: 24-Jan-2022

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council stopping making Discretionary Housing Payments to cover the shortfall between her benefits and rent. The Council was at fault for failing to properly consider if Miss X’s property was affordable before ending its relief homelessness duty and for failing to consider if it owed her a new homelessness duty when she accrued significant rent arrears. This caused Miss X distress. The Council has agreed to pay Miss X’s rent arrears and ongoing rent shortfall and consider whether it owes Miss X a homelessness duty. It should also remind its staff of the proper process.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff they must consider whether someone's accomodation is affordable when deciding to end the relief homelessness duty.The Council will remind staff that significant rent arrears and threats of eviction should both trigger consideration of whether the Council owes a person a homelessness duty.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (20 014 123)

    Category: Housing Date: 19-Sep-2021

    Summary

    Mr B complained about the Council’s involvement in the decision that the property where he was living was unsafe which meant he could no longer live there. He said the Council failed to provide any accommodation for him while it considered his application as homeless. And failed to help him to find accommodation and decided he was not in priority need. He said the Council failed to deal with his requests for a review of the decisions. As a result he had no accommodation for over nine months and had to sleep in his car. There was fault that caused injustice to Mr B. The Council will apologise, make a payment to him, reissue the decision and take other action to ensure the errors will not recur.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its procedures to ensure that correct informationis given to homeless applicants and that Personal Housing Plans are fullycompleted to ensure that it complies with the duty to take reasonable steps tohelp applicants secure accommodation.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (20 011 283)

    Category: Housing Date: 25-Nov-2021

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for failing to provide comprehensive advice and information about Mrs X’s housing situation, failing to make a direct offer of housing in line with its letter to Mrs X, delays in dealing with the case and unfairly raising Mrs X’s expectations about a property she viewed. It should apologise, and pay her £2,000 for the frustration and uncertainty caused, and the time and trouble pursuing the Council over many months. It should also review its processes to avoid a recurrence of these faults.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind relevant staff of the need to keep a proper record of initial interviews, including the information provided by applicants and any advice given.The Council will consider how its allocations and homelessness teams could work more closely together to give appropriate advice in cases where an emergency transfer is sought but the applicant is also potentially homeless, to ensure all relevant options are considered.The Council will prepare an information sheet for tenants who need to leave their homes due to the risk of violence to set out their options and the consequences, and to explain the Council's role. This should be checked by its legal team to ensure it is accurate. This would ensure consistent advice is given to such applicants, although it should be supplemented by advice that is specific to their circumstances.The Council will consider what action it can take to improve the availability of appropriate housing for families fleeing violence and reduce waiting times for applicants in Band A (highest priority).

  • London Borough of Lambeth (20 009 627)

    Category: Housing Date: 04-Jun-2021

    Summary

    The Council is not at fault for requiring Ms X to move to a property the same size as her current one. However, the Council raised Ms X’s expectations when it said it would make her a direct offer of housing after six months. It also wrongly recorded reasons for skipped offers and failed to consider what support Ms X and her child might need. This is fault. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay Ms X £700, and take action to improve its service.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to ensure officers record a “bypass reason” which accurately reflects the circumstances to avoid causing unnecessary confusion and distress to unsuccessful bidders for social housing.

  • London Borough of Lambeth (20 001 825)

    Category: Housing Date: 21-Oct-2021

    Summary

    Ms X complains the Council significantly delayed carrying out medical assessments, did not consider her and her family’s needs when allocating her accommodation and failed to address health and safety issues at three temporary accommodations she and her family stayed at. She said this matter has caused her and her family distress and upset. The Council was at fault when it did not respond to Ms X’s medical assessments for several months on two occasions. This caused Ms X stress and upset. The Council has agreed to provide Ms X with a £150 financial award. The Council has also agreed to remind its staff of the importance of carrying out medical assessments within the required timescales. There was no other fault identified in the Council’s actions.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind staff of the importance of keeping to the required timescales when processing medical assessments.

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