Case Ref: 23 006 095 Category: Education Sub Category: School admissions

• The Council will remind all clerking staff of the need to clearly record how the school admissions panel reached its decisions and the reasons for the decisions at both stages of the appeal process.

Case Ref: 22 017 199 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Housing benefit and council tax benefit

• Remind staff to ensure they issue Personal Housing Plans in a timely manner once they have completed a homelessness assessment

Case Ref: 22 016 899 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• The Council will share this decision with staff dealing with parking permits and remind them to act promptly when receiving documents.

Case Ref: 22 015 989 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will send a memo to officers dealing with housing register applications to remind them of the discretion available in the Council’s allocations policy when considering whether to add a family member on to an applicant’s housing register application.
• The Council will carry out a training session for officers dealing with homeless applicants in temporary accommodation on the circumstances in which the Council can cancel the provision of temporary accommodation.

Case Ref: 22 013 245 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure that in all cases where a child or young person is moving between key phases of education, the review and amendments to their EHC plan are completed by 15 February in the calendar year of the transfer.
• The Council has agreed to investigate why it delayed amending the EHC plan in this case, and it will take action to prevent such failings in future.

Case Ref: 22 011 699 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Disabled children

• The Council will send a memo to officers sitting on short breaks panels to remind them of the need to record their reasoning when awarding short breaks hours, particularly when it awards an amount of hours that is different to the social worker’s recommendation.

Case Ref: 22 011 395 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to review its handling of a complaint taking into account the findings of fault around a lack of rationale of its refusal to increase a personal budget in line with the wording on an Education, Health and Care Plan at both stage 1 and stage 2 of the process. The Council should discuss the findings with complaint handlers at the next team meeting and outline to the Ombudsman any learning and actions it will take to improve how it responds to complaints going forward.
• The Council has agreed to carry out staff refresher training around Education, Health and Care plan educational provision and personal budgets. The training should ensure staff, including those who sit on funding panels are aware of the law and statutory guidance around personal budgets and the need for personal budgets to be sufficient to secure the agreed provision set out in the plan.

Case Ref: 22 010 783 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of the statutory timescales following an annual review and that an EHC plan must be reviewed in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education.

Case Ref: 22 010 136 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide training to staff involved in this complaint and any responsible for school attendance, to ensure they are aware of this decision and the Council’s duties under s19 of the Education Act.
• The Council has agreed to review its service to ensure it is able to provide alternative education for any children of compulsory school age who are unable to attend school.
• The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure it consuts schools in a timely manner.
• The Council has agreed to remind all staff responsible for responding to complaints that they should tell complainants how to escalate their complaint if they remain dissatisfied.

Case Ref: 22 005 408 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Trees

• The Council will undertake a detailed written review into the failings identified. In in doing so, the review should outline the number of high hedge complaints the Council has received over the last three years and the average time taken starting action and issuing a remedial notice. It should produce a plan for dealing with any identified delays.
• The Council will provide guidance and training to ensure high hedge complaints are allocated to the correct team.