Case Ref: 23 010 082 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to reflect on the issues raised in this decision statement and identify any areas of service improvement, particularly in respect of suitability review delays and poor communication. The Council should prepare a short report setting out what the Council intends to do to ensure similar problems do not reoccur. This report should be sent to the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 23 010 032 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to provide advice, guidance or training to staff to ensure they:properly explain the consequences of staying with friends/relatives to prevent homelessness and to get a higher banding, and the likely timescales involved in securing social housing in band B; issue homelessness decision letters promptly setting out the duty owed and review rights; andknow what information is required for a referral to its private lettings scheme and this is communicated effectively to applicants.

Case Ref: 23 008 937 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to send a written briefing to all staff in the Housing Needs service reminding them of the legal duty to make an accurate and comprehensive record of the housing and support needs of the applicant and members of their household and to keep PHPs under review.
• The Council has agreed to review its procedures for acting on reports of disrepair in interim/temporary accommodation to ensure property inspections are arranged promptly.
• The Council has agreed to share a copy of our final decision statement with the Housing Improvement Board.
• The Council has agreed to identify what further steps it can take to reduce the time it takes to process statutory and non-statutory review requests and include this in the Housing Needs Improvement Plan.

Case Ref: 23 008 169 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• the Council should issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure officers:know the relevant time limits after an annual review, and set reminders accordingly so children do not get “lost”;review our Focus Report “Out of School, Out of Sight?” andare aware of the Section 19 duties.

Case Ref: 23 007 765 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Council tax support

• The Council has agreed to provide training or guidance to all staff dealing with council tax and benefits on how to identify when a claimant has an agreed reasonable adjustment, such as large print, and how to meet this in every communication.
• The Council has agreed to remind staff dealing with complaints to ensure any reasonable adjustments agreed by a service or department are carried through into the complaint process.

Case Ref: 23 001 390 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to provide a report of progress with the Improvement Plan and evidence of ongoing scrutiny by the relevant scrutiny committee or cabinet member.
• The Council has agreed to provide details of any other action it has taken to improve the available supply of temporary accommodation.

Case Ref: 23 015 219 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• Review all email templates about the updating of parking permits.

Case Ref: 23 009 431 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• 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.

Case Ref: 23 005 162 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council agreed that it would brief those staff who consider complaints made under the statutory complaint procedure for Children's Services, to pay close attention to Government guidance supporting that procedure in two areas. First, when considering a complaint made by a child or young person about events more that 12 months previously. The Council must consider the individual circumstances that have led the complainant to make a late complaint, such as their age, potential vulnerability, ability to make a complaint at the time of the events and so on. Second, to be aware of guidance on 'financial redress', which should be considered where appropriate.

Case Ref: 23 004 285 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• The Council has agreed to carry out a comprehensive review of the operation of the statutory complaints procedure to ensure:1.people are not denied the opportunity to use the procedure where legal action has been threatened but not pursued. I would suggest it considers introducing a timeframe after which it will accept a complaint if court proceedings have not started; 2.the consideration of whether to accept late complaints is done in accordance with the statutory guidance; and3.complaints staff are aware that when the Council agrees to our recommendations, we expect the Council to implement them within the specified timescale or come back to us explaining why it is not now possible.