Service improvements

London Borough of Redbridge

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

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 - 10 of 11 cases with service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Redbridge (22 003 393)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 28-Nov-2022

    Summary

    The Council was at fault in how it dealt with penalty charge notices issued to Mr X as a result of fraud. The Council requested duplicate information from Mr X causing frustration and anxiety. The Council also failed to meet its duty under the Equality Act to make a reasonable adjustment due to Mr X’s learning difficulties and deal with his complaint by phone rather than in writing. A suitable remedy is agreed for the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    Remind staff of the duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustment.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (22 003 119)

    Category: Housing Date: 11-Oct-2022

    Summary

    We found fault on Miss J’s complaint against the Council of it failing to deal properly, promptly, and effectively with her reports about the condition of her privately rented home. It relied too much on information from the landlord, failed to provide evidence of the assessment it carried out, communicated poorly with her, and did not consider whether the condition of the property was so unsuitable that she was homeless. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to remind officers dealing with these cases of the need to: i) ensure decisions not to take further action are not over reliant on the evidence of just one party; ii) keep written records of any housing health and safety rating system assessment; iii) ensure good and timely updates are communicated with those reporting problems.The Council agreed to ensure officers are aware of the need to consider and decide whether an early visit to inspect reports of housing disrepair is needed.The Council agreed to ensure officers are aware of the need to consider whether those reporting problems are homeless where they consider it unreasonable for them to continue to live in unsuitable accommodation.The Council agreed to contact the landlord for confirmation and evidence that works to rectify the category 1 and 2 hazards it identified have now been done,particularly before the property is relet.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (22 001 761)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 06-Feb-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the care his son, Mr Y, received at a Council commissioned residential home he lives in. There has been a failure to follow the care plan in place for Mr Y. The Council will apologise, make a payment to recognise the injustice caused and take action to prevent the fault recurring.

    Service improvements

    Arrange training for the Achieve Together staff on care plans. This should include training on the importance of providing the care detailed in the care plan.In respect of a care home run by Achieve Together, undertake regular monitoring of its records to establish improvement in care plan adherence.Complete a review of Achieve Together's actions in relation to following the care plan from the Council's visits to the care home and share lessons learned with us and the care provider

  • London Borough of Redbridge (22 001 579)

    Category: Housing Date: 20-Dec-2022

    Summary

    Mr B complained about the way the Council responded to his complaints about noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour by the occupier of the house next to his. He said that he and his family are frequently disturbed by shouting and other noise during the night. This disrupts their sleep and is generally distressing. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice and which the Council should remedy by apologising and making a payment to Mr B. It should also consider any further information Mr B provides about the current situation.

    Service improvements

    The Council will consider any recent evidence from the complainant about the current situation and consider what action it should take.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (21 018 806)

    Category: Housing Date: 02-Oct-2022

    Summary

    We found fault in the way the Council dealt with the complainant’s (Ms X) suitability review request and her Housing Register application review. Some of the Council’s failings caused Ms X injustice and we made recommendations for the Council to remedy it by apologising, making payments for Ms X and reminding its staff of the relevant processes.

    Service improvements

    The Council will ensure the staff in the homelessness team are reminded that suitability of temporary accommodation is the Council's ongoing duty and should be kept under review, especially when notified of a change in the circumstances. The Council will send us the written confirmation of the staff having completed this task, indicating when it happened and how many officers participated.The Council will ensure all staff dealing with the Housing Register applications review the Council's Housing Allocation Scheme and paragraph 5.23 of the Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local housing authorities in England. The Council will send us the written confirmation of the staff having completed this task, indicating when it happened and how many officers participated.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (21 018 440)

    Category: Housing Date: 17-Nov-2022

    Summary

    The Council was at fault because it used an out-of-date definition when it decided Mr X did not have priority need for accommodation. It also failed to make reasonable adjustments for Mr X’s disability. The Council is not at fault for how it coordinated with children's services. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a new decision about priority need, pay Mr X £500, and act to improve its services.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the change to the definition of priority need introduced by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.The Council has agreed to amend relevant template letters, emails and internal guidance to include the up-to-date definition of priority need.The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the proactive duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act and provide training or guidance as needed.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (21 014 790)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 08-Oct-2022

    Summary

    Miss G complains the Council has failed to meet her assessed eligible care needs and carry out her needed home adaptations due to her health needs. We found the Council seriously delayed in carrying out a financial assessment to determine if Miss G needed to contribute to her care package. This in turn delayed the necessary care and support Miss G needed. In addition, the Council sent Miss G incorrect documentation relating to her application for a disabled facilities grant which caused uncertainty and a delay to her needed home alterations. That said, we found Miss G has also been unavailable for appointments and professional visits which also delayed her needed home alterations. Nevertheless, the fault identified has caused Miss G an injustice and the Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy this.

    Service improvements

    The Council will investigate the reasons why the complainant was not notified of the financial assessment outcome in April 2020 and the reasons it took until January 2022 for this to happen. This should inform feedback and guidance to staff dealing with financial assessments, as well as measures to avoid similar occurrences.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (21 014 538)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 04-Jul-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained about how the Council explained the process of challenging a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) on its website. The Council was at fault for having unclear information about challenging PCNs on its website and for not having a parking enforcement policy. This did not cause Mr X an injustice because the Council’s subsequent letters to Mr X appropriately explained the process. The Council has agreed to review the information on its website to ensure it is clear and to produce a parking enforcement policy in accordance with the statutory guidance.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review the information on its website to ensure it clearly explains the different stages for challenging a Penalty Charge Notice including the informal challenge, formal representations and appeals to the independent adjudicator.The Council agreed to prepare a parking enforcement policy in accordance with statutory guidance 'Guidance for local authorities on enforcing parking restrictions'. It should ensure the policy is available to the public via its website.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (21 012 979)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 19-Jul-2022

    Summary

    We did not find fault in how a Trust communicated details about a patient’s hospital discharge to a care agency. We found fault by a Council when it failed to complete a scheduled carer visit. This led to a hospital readmission. We also found fault by the Trust with its record keeping. However, we did not find there was a link from the fault to the complainant’s claimed injustice that her mother caught COVID-19 and died during this hospital admission. We have recommended actions to the Trust and the Council to address the service failings. We have also recommended apologies and a financial remedy to recognise the distress the faults caused the complainant.

    Service improvements

    The Council will confirm to the complainants and the Ombudsmen specifically what measures have been taken to address the failings by the care agency and prevent similar failings with lack of carer visits in future.

  • London Borough of Redbridge (21 010 664)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 26-Sep-2022

    Summary

    Mrs F complained the Council failed to take into account her mental health condition when pursuing her for an unpaid parking fine. We have found fault as the Council does not have a specific policy on dealing with vulnerable debtors and in complaint handling which caused time and trouble to Mrs F. The Council has agreed to apologise for this and develop a policy. We have found no fault in the way the Council pursued the debt. Mrs F should make an arrangement with the enforcement agent to pay the debt.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its debt recovery procedures to develop a policy for vulnerable debtors. It will report back to the Ombudsman with the outcome.

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