The Council has agreed to provide training/reminders to relevant staff of:•the importance of making suitably prompt enquiries and meeting statutory deadlines; and•the need to properly document decisions regarding the suitability of accommodation and to keep the suitability of accommodation under review.

Reviews its procedures to ensure officers consider the suitability of interim, temporary or permanent accommodation at the point of offer and record this decision. This is to avoid the need for the Council to carry out a suitability assessment in response to an applicant’s request for a suitability review when the request is lodged within 21 days. This is also to ensure the Council does not insert an additional stage into the review process.By training or other means, ensures officers recognise a request for a review of homelessness decisions, including requests for a review of the suitability of temporary and permanent accommodation, and direct them to the appropriate officers to carry out the reviewDraw up or provide its action plan, with clear timescales, for reducing the delay in carrying out suitability assessments.Amend its template letters to ensure the Council includes details of how applicants can seek a review of the Council’s decision on their housing priority band

The Council has agreed to produce a policy or procedure explaining how the priority transfer list works, including the criteria for being placed on the list, the criteria for priority within the list and how temporary accommodation is allocated within the list.The Council will carry out a review of its procurement of temporary accommodation and identify ways of increasing the supply of different types of temporary accommodation suitable for families. This could form part of the independent external review referred to in the decision.

The Council will review any similar problems being reported about properties it uses for temporary accommodation that are managed by the same agent.The Council will issue a reminder to relevant staff to ensure they are aware that the Council is ultimately responsible for the actions of landlords/agents of temporary accommodation.

The Council agreed to provide a copy of the action plan it agreed to do on a reported case (22 007 276) by June 2023. The action plan will be based on learning from that case and a wider review of the homelessness service of how it will ensure it can meet its statutory duties to homeless applicants.The Council agreed to identify why the review request sent in November 2021 was not located for about five months and act to ensure this cannot happen on future cases.The Council agreed to review why failings in the complaints process happened and act to ensure these cannot happen on future cases.

The Council will remind relevant officers in its Tenancy Sustainment Team of their responsibilities to seek evidence when tenants contact them to advise of properties that they say have poor conditions. Officers need to consider if further investigation is needed into whether the conditions were such that the property might be unfit for human habitation. They should routinely follow up enquiries and liaise as needed with, for example, the tenant, the Council’s Private Sector Housing Team and homelessness team.The Council will remind relevant officers in its Private Sector Housing Team of the need for accurate, complete and contemporaneous records. And the need to consider whether any advice or support needs a written confirmation or follow-up.