Case Ref: 22 014 738 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• 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.

Case Ref: 22 013 128 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• 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.

Case Ref: 22 013 092 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• The Council agreed to remind relevant staff of:the importance of clear communication with children and families during moves between foster care placements;the need to record important information about communications with young people in vulnerable circumstances; andthe circumstances in which an early referral to the Ombudsman is appropriate under the statutory children's complaints procedure and that, unless these are met, complainants are entitled to go through all stages of the process.

Case Ref: 22 010 826 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• 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.

Case Ref: 22 010 472 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Look at what went wrong in this case and why there were significant delays in amending the child's Education, Health and Care plan. The Council should consider what steps it will put in place to prevent delays like this occurring in the future. The Council should report back to the Ombudsman what measures it intends to introduce.

Case Ref: 22 005 821 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• the Council has agreed to review its policies and procedures for deciding whether it is required to make alternative provision where it knows a child is no longer able to attend school and making the alterative provision promptly.
• the Council has agreed to review its policies and procedures for ensuring annual reviews are completed within the required timescalesand its SEN officers are aware of these timescales and their importance.

Case Ref: 22 005 213 Category: Housing Sub Category: Private housing

• 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.

Case Ref: 22 004 656 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will review its direct payment process to ensure agreements are properly completed with the relevant financial information before signing.
• The Council will put in place arrangements to regularly review direct payment agreements to ensure they are being correctly managed and take prompt action as may be appropriate if this is not the case.
• The Council will review its financial assessment procedures to ensure assessments are regularly reviewed, a proper record is kept of all assessments and any client contribution is properly notified.
• The Council will review its systems to identify how a failure to pay an assessed client contribution was not highlighted for several years and take such action as necessary to ensure this does not recur.

Case Ref: 22 013 056 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• Investigate why its service failure continued after its complaint response acknowledging fault and provide a report to the Ombudsman detailing the outcomes, together with any service improvement actions it proposes to take.