Case Ref: 25 007 484 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Safeguarding

• The Council will share this decision with staff in homelessness, adult social care and complaint handling.
• The Council will review its procedure for arranging interpreters within adult social care and update relevant staff on this.
• The Council will review how it monitors and ensures progress where a safeguarding referral is closed on the basis that the risk is managed by Care Act assessments.

Case Ref: 24 022 800 Category: Housing Sub Category: Council house sales and leaseholders

• The Council will remind relevant staff to consider the Government Guidance on Right to Buy when making offers where the cost floor price is higher than the market valuation.

Case Ref: 24 021 597 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will carry out a training session for officers dealing with homeless applications to cover priority need, the circumstances in which the Council should provide interim accommodation and the Council’s discretionary powers to provide interim accommodation where a person is rough sleeping.

Case Ref: 24 018 072 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• Review its procedure in relation to the date up until which representations can be provided to ensure it is in line with legislation and provide evidence it has done so.

Case Ref: 24 017 739 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Disabled facilities grants

• Create an action plan with the aim of helping to reduce the significant delays in the Council's Disabled Facilities Grant processing times.

Case Ref: 24 017 686 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• 2. Within three months of the final decision the Council will:a) review why Mrs D did not receive an Occupational Therapy assessment before she went home and provide an action plan about how the Council will avoid this happening in the future;
• Within three months of the final decision the Council will: b) provide a reminder by way of a staff circular, team meeting or as part of formal training, to relevant officers about the importance of completing person centered support plans;
• Within three months of the final decision the Council will: c) provide a reminder by way of a staff circular, team meeting or as part of formal training, to relevant officers about the importance of recording interactions including telephone calls;
• Within three months of the final decision the Council will: d) provide an update on what actions the Council has taken about Bio Luminuex Healthcare Ltd to ensure it provides contracted services.

Case Ref: 24 017 062 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council agreed to remind relevant officers of the need to assess the suitability of temporary accommodation for applicants before placing them in it and to retain a record of the assessment.

Case Ref: 24 016 722 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council should produce an action plan to address the delays in dealing with applications and review requests caused by staff shortages, and any backlogs this has created.

Case Ref: 24 016 712 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Using this case as an example, the Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the duty to make inquiries and issue a reviewable decision when it has reason to believe someone might be homeless or threatened with homeless, regardless of any duty owed by another council
• The Council has agreed to ensure all decisions on applications for social housing give reasons for the decision and set out the applicant’s right to ask for a review. Amend any templates as necessary.
• The Council has agreed to identify and implement a means of ensuring that automated decision making in housing allocations does not prevent the Council considering individual circumstances and exercising discretion
• The Council has agreed to review and amend the housing allocations policy to ensure it reflects the requirement of the Housing Act 1996 to give reasonable preference to applicants owed a homelessness duty by any council and does not disqualify a group of applicants who would otherwise have reasonable preference.
• The Council has agreed to keep records of all applications for social housing and resulting decisions in line with the Council’s document retention policy.

Case Ref: 24 014 994 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council used the wrong age policy and did not identify this at appeal stage. The Council will check its guidance and training for decision makers to ensure they apply the correct law and guidance for the age / year group of the applicant, and this is checked at every stage. The Council could consider introducing prompts or checklists to assist with this.