London Borough of Sutton (22 007 832)

Statement Upheld Noise 11-Apr-2023

Summary: Mr L complains about the contents of a Control of Pollution Act notice the Council served to a neighbouring construction site. He also complains about the Council’s lack of action about the noise from the property after neighbours moved in. The Ombudsman’s decision is the notice followed the Council’s own Code of Practice, so is not something we can criticise. And the Council conducted a proportionate investigation into the noise from the neighbours. We cannot question the merits of its conclusions. I have made a finding of fault, because of some missed and inaccurate advice. But no further action is needed, as the Council’s faults have not caused a significant injustice.

London Borough of Sutton (21 011 145)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 27-Apr-2023

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has not dealt properly with her son Y’s education. The Council did not ensure Y’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision was met, did not consider whether Y needed alternative education provision properly and provided inaccurate information in its complaint response. Y lost some educational opportunity and Mrs X suffered avoidable distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay Mrs X £2025 for Y’s lost provision, pay Mrs X £200 for further avoidable distress, provide training and guidance to staff and provide a report to the Ombudsman.

London Borough of Sutton (22 009 987)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 15-May-2023

Summary: Mrs X complains about the delay by the Council in issuing her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). She says the Council also ignored her request for reasonable adjustments when communicating with her. We find fault with the Council for the delay in issuing the final EHCP and for not carrying out the reasonable adjustments sought. We have agreed remedies to ensure this does not happen again.

London Borough of Sutton (22 017 116)

Statement Upheld Other 18-May-2023

Summary: In January 2023 we upheld Mx X’s complaint that the Council failed to reply to their complaint under the statutory children's complaints procedure. The Council agreed to our recommendation to complete the stage two investigation by February 2023 and pay Mx X £100 in recognition of the injustice they experienced. The Council was at fault for delay in completing these recommendations. This caused Mx X avoidable frustration and uncertainty. The Council will apologise for the additional delay and pay Mx X a further £150.

London Borough of Sutton (22 003 196)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 23-May-2023

Summary: Ms X (who complains on behalf of Mr Y) complained the Council failed to carry out a review of the suitability of his temporary accommodation. We found fault by the Council in its handling of Mr Y’s review requests which resulted in him staying in unsuitable temporary accommodation for 10 months. To remedy the injustice caused to Mr Y, the Council agreed to apologise to him and make a payment in recognition of the negative impact of living in unsuitable accommodation.

London Borough of Sutton (23 001 125)

Statement Upheld Other 06-Jun-2023

Summary: I uphold this complaint that the Council delayed its response under the statutory process for complaints about children’s services. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by providing a suitable remedy for the injustice the complainants have been caused.

London Borough of Sutton (23 000 904)

Statement Upheld Other 22-Jun-2023

Summary: We found fault with the Council for the delay in completing stage two of the statutory children’s complaint procedure. This fault caused Mr X injustice. The Council agreed to apologise, complete stage two of the complaint procedure, make a symbolic payment and consider service improvements to ensure it meets the statutory children’s complaints timescales.

London Borough of Sutton (22 017 725)

Statement Upheld Charging 27-Jun-2023

Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed deal properly with the request for a discretionary property disregard for his father’s home, where his sister still lives. The Council has failed to give proper consideration to Mr X’s request. It needs to reconsider his request and address the issues he has raised.

London Borough of Sutton (22 014 676)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 13-Jul-2023

Summary: The Council was at fault for delaying in completing a child’s Education, Health and Care needs assessment and for not putting in place all the special educational provision after they were permanently excluded from school. As a result the child missed out on receiving all of the provision in their Education, Health and Care plan. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council agreed to apologise, make a payment for the loss of education to the child and put in place some of the missed provision.

London Borough of Sutton (22 014 489)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 15-Aug-2023

Summary: London Borough of Sutton and NHS South West London Integrated Care Board were jointly at fault for not providing health provision in Miss Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan. That put her at risk of harm and caused her distress and uncertainty. That fault also caused Miss Y’s father, Dr X, distress. Those organisations should apologise, carry out service improvements and make a symbolic payment to recognise the injustice Miss Y and Dr X suffered.