London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 015 346)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 23-Jul-2020

Summary: Miss B complains the Council has not dealt with her housing needs properly. The Council was at fault because it has not taken account of information about Miss B’s health and took too long to provide adaptations. Miss B suffered a fall and injured herself. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and pay her £500 for the harm and additional risk of harm she experienced.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 015 533)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 28-Jul-2020

Summary: There was fault by the Council which took too long to set up a direct payment for Ms X so she could choose her own care provider. This caused avoidable frustration and meant she had to receive care from two agencies despite raising repeated concerns about the quality of those agencies. To remedy the injustice, the Council will apologise and refund fees.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 010 719)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 29-Jul-2020

Summary: Mr X complains the Council has failed to collect his recycling. He says the Council has not effectively addressed his complaints about this issue. The Council is at fault. It has failed to complete recycling bin collections or effectively address Mr X’s complaints about that failure, which is an injustice We have suggested a remedy.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (17 012 634)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 11-Aug-2020

Summary: Miss X complained about the actions of London Borough of Tower Hamlets (the Council’s) adult social care and substance misuse services and East London NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust’s) mental health and autism diagnosis services. The Ombudsmen have upheld some of Miss X’s complaints against both the Council and the Trust. The Council and the Trust have accepted our recommendations for apologies, financial remedies and service improvements. We have therefore completed our investigation.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 012 560)

Statement Upheld Allocations 19-Aug-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman found fault by the Council on Miss Q’s complaint of it failing to promptly, and properly, process her homeless application. It failed to show it considered the need to offer her interim accommodation. It also failed to consider whether it was reasonable for her to occupy the accommodation where she was staying. The Council failed to show it reviewed the personal housing plan, kept full records on her case, or made enquiries on her application. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 006 095)

Statement Upheld Noise 24-Aug-2020

Summary: Ms B complains about the Council’s response to requests made over several years that it tackles noise from a local business. We do not fault the Council for its judgment that it cannot take action to prevent the noise Ms B complains about. However, we do find the Council at fault for poor customer service causing Ms B unnecessary time, trouble and frustration. The Council accepts this finding and at the end of this statement we explain the action it has agreed to take to remedy that injustice.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 013 947)

Statement Upheld Allocations 07-Sep-2020

Summary: Ms X complained about the way the Council handled her housing application and, in particular, it failed to properly consider her medical needs. As a result she says she was placed in the wrong priority band on the housing register. The Council was at fault for delays in the process and failings in its decision-making. It should apologise, pay Ms X £150 for the avoidable distress and uncertainty caused, and review its processes.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 012 831)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 21-Sep-2020

Summary: Mr C complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect his general waste, food waste and recycling on the scheduled days or respond in a timely way to his reports of missed collections. Mr C says his bins overflow and the area is unsightly and unhygienic and he has spent unnecessary time and trouble in reporting the issues. The Ombudsman has found fault by the Council but considers the agreed actions of an apology, small payment and period of evidenced monitoring are enough to provide a suitable remedy.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 018 142)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 25-Sep-2020

Summary: Mrs C complains the Council has repeatedly failed to collect her general waste and recycling on the scheduled days or respond to her reports of missed collections in a timely way. Mrs C says her bins overflow and the area is unsightly and unhygienic and she has incurred additional cleaning costs and stress as well as spending unnecessary time and trouble in reporting the issues. The Ombudsman has found fault by the Council but considers the agreed actions of an apology, small payment and period of evidenced monitoring are enough to provide a suitable remedy.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (19 016 128)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 28-Sep-2020

Summary: Mr X says the Council took too long to accept a main housing duty towards him, leaving him in unsuitable accommodation for 10 months. The Ombudsman has found fault by the Council. In recognition of the injustice caused to Mr X he recommended the Council review its procedures, offers its staff refresher training, writes a letter of apology to Mr X and pays him £3800. The Council agreed.