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.

Case Ref: 24 014 685 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to issue a reminder to staff in its Special Educational Needs and Disability Service, about the statutory timescales for completing reviews of Education, Health, and Care Plans.

Case Ref: 24 012 973 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: 24 012 196 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to provide guidance or training to relevant officers within Adult Social Care to ensure that complaint responses are comprehensive enough to address the concerns raised and provide a clear explanation of the findings and recommendations of the complaint investigation.

Case Ref: 24 012 011 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to amend the template for letters offering temporary accommodation to ensure theCouncil explains why it considers the offered property is suitable withreference to the needs and circumstances of the household. The Council will provide training orguidance to relevant staff as necessary.
• The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff that the Council has a duty to keep the suitability oftemporary accommodation under review and that it should make a new decision,with new review rights, in response to a change in circumstances or other newevidence.
• The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the definition of a complaint and a service requestand that when deciding a matter is a service request, the Council should setout how the individual can complain if they remain unhappy.

Case Ref: 24 010 372 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council failed to consider a child's individual circumstances for travel assistance to and from college. It also failed to consider their Education, Health and Care Plan and disability when it made its decision and it did not properly explain its reasons for refusing travel assistance. The Council did not follow its appeal process. The Council will review and amend its procedures, appeal records and decision letters.
• The Council's travel assistance policy for post-16 is unclear and its wait time for an assessment for independent travel training is not reasonable.The Council will review and amend its travel assistance policy for post-16 so that it clearly explains independent travel training is not an offer of travel assistance; and it provides examples of what exceptional circumstances it would consider when assessing an application for travel assistance.

Case Ref: 24 009 734 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will remind those dealing with school transport cases of the need to ensure parents/carers are given the opportunity to attend stage two appeal panel hearings should they wish to and that decisions following appeals should explain the Council’s reasoning, addressing the points the parents/carers have raised.
• The Council will amend its school transport policy to make clear parents/carers should be given an opportunity to attend a stage two panel hearing to put their case in person.

Case Ref: 24 008 348 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will share this decision with staff in homelessness, adult social care and complaint handling.
• The Council will refresh training for homelessness service staff on mental capacity assessments, including the need to record the assessment and the reasons for its conclusions properly.
• The Council will refresh training for homelessness service staff on its approach, powers and duties with regard to applicant’s suffering domestic abuse.

Case Ref: 24 004 652 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will create an action plan in relation to the shortage of staff within special educational needs and disability. The action plan will have target dates and specify the steps the Council intends on carrying out to prevent delays to provision and lack of provision.
• The Council will remind staff to adhere to its complaints procedure to ensure they are effectively communicating with parents.