Case Ref: 23 013 263 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Review its procedures for inspecting temporary accommodation before it is let to ensure the Council inspects whether the property has functioning heating and hot water.

Case Ref: 23 009 231 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will remind all housing staff dealing with medical assessments of the importance of properly explaining decisions in letters.

Case Ref: 23 005 821 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• The Council agreed to organise refresher training for its staff about their responsibilities, and the Council’s duties, under the Equality Act.

Case Ref: 23 014 494 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transport

• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with a copy of the Blue Badge policy which it is currently writing.
• The Council will provide evidence to the Ombudsman to show the information on its website accurately reflects the contents of the current Department for Transport guidance.
• The Council will deliver staff training or provide a briefing paper to officers responsible for making Blue Badge decisions. The officers should be reminded of the requirements in the current Department for Transport guidance, specifically around enduring disabilities, walking distances and the requirement to accept and consider medical evidence from specialists such as Physiotherapists.

Case Ref: 23 004 467 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• •Remind all relevant staff of the importance of fully recording communications. This would enable the Council to evidence its decision making.
• •Remind all relevant staff of the importance of completing timely reviews.

Case Ref: 23 003 461 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will remind officers of the need to carry out a suitability assessment before placing a homeless applicant in shared or other interim accommodation.
• The Council will remind officers of the need to investigate complaints once they are submitted in accordance with the timescales set out in its complaint procedure.

Case Ref: 23 003 139 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council agreed to review relevant processes, and share a copy of our final decision with/ issue reminders to, relevant housing staff, to ensure:it tells homelessness applicants about its duties under section 211 of The Housing Act 1996 to protect their personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged;if 56 days have passed since it accepted the relief duty, and no suitable accommodation offer has been refused, it accepts the main housing duty to meet statutory timescales; it meets the Council’s duties under The Equality Act 2010, including the reasonable adjustment duty. It should properly record and consider all requests for reasonable adjustments, so all staff interacting with a homelessness applicant apply adjustments the Council has already agreed to; and where it upholds a complaint about homelessness it properly completes follow-up actions it has agreed to, in good time.

Case Ref: 22 011 776 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to review its procedures for paying education providers (including the IT systems it uses) to address the persistent problems making timely payment to providers. It will create an action plan explaining what it will do to achieve a permanent resolution.

Case Ref: 22 010 608 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Review what went wrong in its complaint handling in this case and identify what measures it can put in place to ensure delays such as this do not occur in the future.
• Provide the Ombudsman with a report detailing what it has done, and plans to do, to tackle the backlog of overdue education, health and care needs assessments and ensure these are completed within the statutory timeframe.

Case Ref: 22 003 173 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will remind its property managing agents of the importance of liaising with the Council prior to moving tenants so it can fulfil its duty to provide a view on an accommodation’s suitability and the tenant’s right to request a review.