Case Ref: 23 003 555 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• The Council will make changes to its website to clarify the discretionary criteria for a personalised parking bay.

Case Ref: 23 002 970 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will remind relevant officers of the importance of making proper enquiries before reaching a decision on whether an applicant is in priority need of housing.
• The Council will review its processes to ensure it provides appropriate support to homeless applicants and those applying to its housing register, who do not speak or read and write in English, to complete forms and otherwise access those services. This should include providing interpretation services where appropriate.

Case Ref: 23 002 183 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Other

• The Council will review the adequacy of the Council’s waste collection and street cleaning services to ensure it delivers services in line with its published timescales and standards.
• The Council will review and approve the its Draft Waste Management Strategy 2018-2030 to enable staff and its residents to be able to rely on an approved Policy for its waste and street cleaning services.
• The Council will review why the its complaints procedure was not adhered to. It should also remind its Complaints Team to ensure it responds to the complaints it receives and does so within the timescales set out in its Complaints Policy.

Case Ref: 22 016 414 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• The Council will remind relevant officers to adhere to the Council’s complaints handling policy and timescales. This will help to ensure it communicates with complainants in a clear and timely manner.
• The Council will remind relevant officers to ensure they are aware they should communicate with complainants (outside of the complaints process), without unnecessary delay. If there are going to be delays, they should keep complainants updated. This will help to ensure people are communicated with in a timely and transparent manner.

Case Ref: 22 016 130 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council should send written reminders to relevant housing staff that responsibility lies with the Council to make decisions on whether to award priority for applications, not medical advisors. It should also remind them to ensure decision letters clearly explain how the Council has reached its decision and what account it has taken of evidence provided, as well as the views of its medical advisors.

Case Ref: 22 016 112 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to review its medical assessment procedure to identify where improvements could be made to speed up the processing of applications.

Case Ref: 22 015 039 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to amend all templates for reviewable homelessness decision letters to include details of the email address to which applicants can send review requests.
• The Council has agreed, when acknowledging a review request, whether by automated email reply or otherwise, to include information about the review process and timescales, including the applicant’s right to go to court if the Council fails to meet the statutory deadline.
• The Council has agreed to identify and implement a process to enable the Council to pick up and deal with time-sensitive contacts when an officer is off sick or on leave.
• The Council has agreed to provide training or guidance to all front-line staff to ensure contacts which express dissatisfaction are directed through the correct process, whether this be the Council’s complaint policy or the relevant statutory process.

Case Ref: 22 014 970 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transport

• The Council will remind officers in its Mobility Support Team that, when a decision to refuse a blue badge application is made, it should write to the applicant and provide a detailed explanation of the grounds for refusal.

Case Ref: 22 014 062 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Noise

• The Council will remind officers of the need to consider whether noise recording equipment should be installed where diary sheets show intermittent noise and make a note where officers decide this is not necessary.

Case Ref: 22 013 602 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council will provide guidance to staff working in Adult Social Care to ensure they understand the Council’s duty to meet eligible care needs unless a carer is willing and able to do so.