Case Ref: 24 013 839 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Other

• Review its procedures for investigating business rates liability where there is uncertainty or conflicting information. This should include:1. Ensuring site visits that do not resolve occupancy status are followed up promptly.2. Clear internal escalation routes for potential hereditament anomalies.3. Reminders to staff of the Council’s duty to notify the VOA where appropriate.

Case Ref: 24 010 659 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will provide training to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities for ensuring the personal budget process is concluded without delay.
• The Council will ensure it has a clear information sharing process in place to provide parents and young people with the relevant information about personal budgets during the Education, Health and Care needs assessment or annual review process.

Case Ref: 24 010 615 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Ensure in future the Council keeps records of its rational for initial medical priority decisions for housing register applications, so it can evidence why it has placed someone in a particular Band based on medical needs.

Case Ref: 24 004 087 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council failed to review a child's Education, Health and Care Plan for nearly two years. The Council has agreed to review its processes around Education, Health and Care Plan reviews to ensure it is carrying out annual reviews within the statutory timescales, properly considering when to carry out an interim review following a change of circumstances and ensuring any amendments to an Education, Health and Care Plan are informed by a review of the child’s needs.

Case Ref: 24 007 821 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to issue written reminders to the relevant staff to ensure they are aware of the Council's section 19 duties.

Case Ref: 24 005 672 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Remind officers in writing of the importance of issuing EHC Plans in line with the statutory timescales.

Case Ref: 24 004 809 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• the Council, as part of its review of its alternative education policy, will:take into account the findings of this complaint to ensure officers are fully aware of when its duties to provide alternative education might be triggered.

Case Ref: 24 001 270 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• By training or other means, remind officers to ensure they signpost residents to the assisted collection service if they mention they have a disability.

Case Ref: 23 018 266 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling.
• Remind relevant staff of the need to be clear when communicating actions with applicants.
• Remind relevant staff when they receive a review request, it is best practice for the officer to forward the request to the relevant team, rather than requesting the applicant resend the request.

Case Ref: 23 013 249 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Friends and family carers

• The Council agreed that it would brief all relevant staff within its advice and guidance service, and its children social work teams, on the findings of this investigation to stress the importance of prompt assessment to determine if a child is in need and/or requires accommodation under Section 20 of the Children Act. We said the briefing could be in-person or online but that it could not simply be in writing given the Council already had adequate written materials on this subject.