Case Ref: 24 016 426 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Housing benefit and council tax benefit

• The Council has agreed to ensure that complaints are properly investigated and responded to within its published timescales.

Case Ref: 24 014 944 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to review its action plan and identify further action needed to ensure it offers interim accommodation to all households the same day it has reason tobelieve they might be eligible, homeless and in priority need.
• The Council has agreed to review its action plan and identify further action needed to ensure it makes a decision about the main housing duty 57 days after accepting therelief duty.

Case Ref: 24 009 457 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to review its temporary accommodation repairs policy and procedures to ensure it and its contractors are considering repeated disrepair reports from tenants when assessing the urgency and timescale for a repair and whether an overall inspection of the property is required; and tenants are communicated with effectively when the Council is arranging, altering or cancelling appointments.

Case Ref: 24 008 982 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review the faults found in this complaint and produce recommendations for how it can avoid a situation in the future where consultations with educational institutions are delayed and contacts from parents go unanswered. These recommendations should be considered by an officer with sufficient seniority to implement any changes recommended.

Case Ref: 24 012 524 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will consider any training needs of officers completing or overseeing needs assessments under the Care Act.

Case Ref: 24 010 072 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Domiciliary care

• The Council agreed to undertake a learning exercise, to understand why it had not reviewed the complainant's care and support plan for over 12 months despite scheduling one after eight weeks and receiving multiple contacts subsequently from the complainant saying the care they received was not meeting their needs and they wanted change. The Council agreed to consider if any systemic problems caused this failing. It agreed to write to us and let us know what the learning exercise found and to explain any changes it would be making to its processes or procedures as a result.

Case Ref: 24 009 746 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Domiciliary care

• Share learning from this decision with the teams involved in organising X’s care in August and September 2023.
• Review the procedure in place between the relevant NHS team/s and the Council regarding arranging discharge care for patients with social care needs who are leaving hospital.
• Ensure the review considers the out of hours procedure in place between the hospital social work team and the Council to ensure discharge care for patients discharged outside normal office hours is organised properly.
• Ensure the review considers the procedure to be followed when discharging a patient to an address outside of the Council’s area.

Case Ref: 24 009 745 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• 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).

Case Ref: 24 006 239 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Disabled facilities grants

• The Council will review its DFG process with a view to implementing proactive case monitoring. This will ensure that cases are managed effectively, and that works are completed on time, preventing delay.

Case Ref: 24 003 953 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Review its procedures for monitoring and ensuring timely annual reviews of EHCPs to prevent similar delays in future. This should include clear escalation processes where schools or colleges are unable to meet deadlines, to ensure the Council fulfils its statutory responsibilities.