Service improvements

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024

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 17 cases with service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (23 005 790)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 11-Mar-2024

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council failed to follow statutory guidance and its own policies when it held an Initial Child Protection Conference regarding her child, Y. The Council was at fault for failing to provide Ms X with all the reports for the conference. There was also fault in the Council’s record keeping. The Council has already apologised for the faults, and this was sufficient to remedy any injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind child protection conference chairs of the pan-London guidance regarding quorate Child Protection Conferences.The Council will remind child protection conference chairs that, where a Child Protection Conference is not quorate, but the chair decides to proceed in any event, they should record their reasons.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (23 003 555)

    Category: Transport and highways Date: 22-Aug-2023

    Summary

    There was fault by the Council in its response to Ms X’s complaint and in the application process for a personalised parking bay. The Council failed to act in line with the Equality Act and this meant Ms X’s case was not considered properly or at all. The Council will apologise, send Ms X a paper application form, consider it on discretionary grounds and make changes to its website.

    Service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (23 002 970)

    Category: Housing Date: 15-Feb-2024

    Summary

    Mr R complained, on behalf of Mr C, about the Council’s lack of support when Mr C asked for help with housing. The Council was at fault for a delay in providing interim accommodation, a failure to make proper enquiries before deciding Mr C was not in priority need, a delay in making a fresh decision after the original decision was withdrawn, and a lack of support for Mr C to complete forms and to apply to its housing register. The Council should apologise, pay Mr C £500 for the injustice caused and take steps to prevent the faults recurring.

    Service improvements

    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.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (23 002 183)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 12-Dec-2023

    Summary

    Mrs D complained the Council had failed to collect her household waste on numerous occasions and to properly maintain streets in her area since May 2022. We found the Council had failed to adhere to its waste collection practices and its street cleaning in Mrs D’s area did not meet the standards the Council had set. The Council agreed to apologise to Mrs D, make payment to acknowledge the injustice this caused her, and review its services to make improvements.

    Service improvements

    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.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 016 414)

    Category: Planning Date: 21-Aug-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council failed to tell him about proposed solutions to protect the privacy of his home. We found fault as the Council took a significant amount of time to share the options with him. To remedy the injustice caused by this fault, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X and remind officers of relevant procedures.

    Service improvements

    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.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 016 130)

    Category: Housing Date: 30-Jul-2023

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council did not suitably consider her medical needs and the negative impact her current home has on her when deciding not to award medical priority on the housing register. We found fault with the Council for failing to properly explain its decision making to Ms X. We also found fault with delays in processing her application. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused to Ms X.

    Service improvements

    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.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 016 112)

    Category: Housing Date: 24-Aug-2023

    Summary

    Mr B complained that the Council delayed in processing his medical assessment for his housing application. We found fault in the actions of the Council. It has agreed to apologise to Mr B, pay him £400 and review its procedures for the future.

    Service improvements

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

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 015 748)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 25-Mar-2024

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council withdrew his care package and did not reinstate it until a solicitor intervened. The Council was not at fault for withdrawing the care package but was at fault for delay and not being proactive to resolve the situation. It should apologise, make a payment to remedy the injustice to Mr X who had to arrange and pay for his own care, and ensure staff learn lessons from what happened.

    Service improvements

    The Council will share a summary of the learning points from the complaint with relevant staff to ensure that in future there is no undue delay in reinstating care and support after a care package has been withdrawn.The Council will remind relevant staff the Care Act 2014 requires it to complete a financial assessment at the time a care package is arranged, and that it is therefore important for social workers and finance staff to work together to avoid a delay in doing this.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 015 039)

    Category: Housing Date: 20-Jul-2023

    Summary

    The Council was at fault for delay ending its main housing duty to Ms X and for failing to respond to her request to review this decision. There was also fault in communication and complaint handling. The Council has agreed to apologise, progress the review, make a payment to Ms X, and act to improve its services.

    Service improvements

    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.

  • London Borough of Tower Hamlets (22 014 970)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 23-May-2023

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council wrongly denied her application and appeal for a blue badge. There was no fault in the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s application. There was fault in how the Council informed Miss X of its decision, but this did not cause Miss X an injustice.

    Service improvements

    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.

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