Case Ref: 22 003 938 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council should review decisions to exclude people from its register for the past three months to see if anyone has been wrongly excluded for not having a fixed address.
• The Council should advise staff dealing with complaints that they should pass complaints which canbe dealt with as review requests (e.g. homelessness or housing allocations) tothe appropriate team for action.

Case Ref: 22 003 470 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff of the statutory time limits involved with planning applications and the need to keep affected parties informed when there are delays in both the planning and enforcement processes.

Case Ref: 22 002 575 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will provide relevant staff with guidance on recognising and appropriately responding to complaints.
• The Council will remind staff to properly consider all the available information when considering appeals against decisions it has made about emergency priority for housing applications.

Case Ref: 22 000 646 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• Review and update its DRE guidance, particularly the ‘maximum amounts’ in light of the issues identified in this statement to ensure it does not fetter its discretion. It should also consider publishing this information or providing applicants with a copy to ensure its decision making is transparent. If it decides not to it should be able to explain why.

Case Ref: 21 013 391 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Housing benefit and council tax benefit

• The Council did not agree to review its practice and improve and I have raised its poor response in the closure letter to the CX.

Case Ref: 21 013 094 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• remind staff about the importance of completing financial assessments quickly and, if requested and within reason, when there is a challenge about an outstanding debt;
• review and if necessary, provide guidance for those presenting applications for funding and their managers about what information panel members need for funding approval;
• record and keep minutes of funding panels.

Case Ref: 21 010 079 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Safeguarding

• Remind staff about the need to properly record the reasons for closing a safeguarding investigation to ensure public interest issues are not missed.

Case Ref: 21 006 765 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• Create a formal policy for contaminated recycling waste identification and collection.

Case Ref: 21 004 446 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Remind housing officers to complete inspections of temporary accommodation, or get evidence from the landlord of its condition, before moving someone into the property.

Case Ref: 21 002 587 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Noise

• Share this decision with the relevant staff.