Service improvements

London Borough of Lewisham

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025

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 - 5 of 5 cases with service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Lewisham (24 009 745)

    Category: Housing Date: 24-Feb-2025

    Summary

    We have completed our investigation. There was fault by the Council. The Council left Mrs X and her child in unsuitable accommodation for five months. It failed to properly respond to her complaint and to pay due regard to article 8 of her human rights. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mrs X. It will also review its approach to unsuitable temporary accommodation and provide its staff with training.

    Service improvements

    Share findings from this investigation with the appropriate homelessness and housing teams. Ensure learning is disseminated properly amongst staff.Reiterate good practice with homelessness and housing teams about responding to disclosures of domestic abuse. Review how and when DASH risk assessments are completed, reminding staff of the importance of understanding the dynamic risk to victims posed by domestic abuse.Decide how it will reduce the impact of unsuitable accommodation on residents who are unable to be moved due to the overall shortage issue. Consult our Guide for Practitioners to ensure as many options as possible are considered, including at a strategic level.Provide an update to the Ombudsman on the action plan relating to public interest report (22016576).

  • London Borough of Lewisham (23 019 478)

    Category: Housing Date: 08-Oct-2024

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council has not reviewed her priority on its housing register. Ms X says she continues to live in overcrowded conditions. We have found the Council at fault as Ms X’s priority has not been reviewed. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise, make a payment to Ms X for the uncertainty caused, re-consider her priority and carry out a service improvement.

    Service improvements

    Complete the review and amendments to its housing allocations scheme so it clearly explains the different procedures for assessing applications made by Housing Association tenants.

  • London Borough of Lewisham (23 018 381)

    Category: Housing Date: 21-Aug-2024

    Summary

    Ms Q complained about the Council’s handling of her housing application and assessment of medical priority. She said she experienced distress due to the impact her housing circumstances had on her. We found the Council at fault for causing significant delays in her 2022 request for medical priority, but no fault in the process it followed to reach its decision, it therefore reached decisions it was entitled to make. The Council will apologise to Ms Q, back date her medical priority start date, and make payment to acknowledge the injustice its delays caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review how it informs applicants about their rights of review following a medical priority decision, and ensure relevant staff are aware of the process to ensure they can provide the necessary information to applicants when decisions or requests are made.The Council will review its practice for priority start dates when it completes assessments or processes information against its Housing Allocation Scheme and Find Your Home Policy. This is to ensure: 1.it is consistent in how the start date for priority is applied; and 2.applicants are not unfairly disadvantaged in circumstances where the Council causes delays in considering applicants reports of changes of circumstances or requests for medical priority.

  • London Borough of Lewisham (23 014 834)

    Category: Housing Date: 07-Jul-2024

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the Council’s delay in completing his medical assessment and re-assessing his priority band on the housing register. He also complained it failed to act on an adjudicator’s recommendations. We have found fault by the Council, causing injustice, in its delay in completing Mr X’s medical assessment and its failures to: consider expediting the assessment; act on the adjudicator’s recommendations; and inform Mr X of his review rights. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising, making a payment to reflect Mr X’s distress and uncertainty, considering the exercise of management discretion about his priority band, and making service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind officers of the process they should follow when they receive medical information which may justify a transfer or increased priority, and the process for expediting a medical assessmentThe Council has agreed to review its procedures for notifying applicants of decisions about their housing applications to ensure they are informed of their right to request a review of these decisions.

  • London Borough of Lewisham (23 013 222)

    Category: Housing Date: 04-Jun-2024

    Summary

    Ms F complained about the Council’s handling of her housing register application since 2021 and how it communicated with her. She said as a result she experienced distress and lost out on moves to a suitable property. We agreed with the Council it was at fault for causing an extensive delay in Ms F’s housing application, for its poor communication and its delayed complaints handling. However, its apology and proposed remedy was not enough to acknowledge the injustice this caused Ms F. The Council should make payment to Ms F and provide us with an update on staff training.

    Service improvements

    The Council will provide the Ombudsman with an update on the roll out of its scheduled training to complaints handling staff, which aims to avoid delays and improve responses.

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