Case Ref: 22 011 858 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed within three months of the date of my final decision, to:• review its procedures for dealing with reviews about housing allocation decisions to ensure review decisions are accurate, contain reasons and provide a right of review where appropriate; and • remind staff that when information is received indicating a change of circumstance that further enquiries should be made of the applicant to ensure full information about their situation is obtained.

Case Ref: 21 017 813 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• Going forward, the Council should set up a process where no monies received from its finance team will be processed until the parking team has completed an assessment on a case, to help ensure that PCNs will not be deemed paid if a challenge has accompanied a payment made. Any monies paid from a payment card will similarly be refunded if accompanied by a challenge and will be further requested, if necessary, when a challenge has been responded to.
• The Council will also place a notice on its website advising residents that if they have historically challenged and paid a PCN at the informal stage and have not had the opportunity to go to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, they can take their case to the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 21 008 051 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Disabled facilities grants

• The Council should send a memo to officers dealing with disabled facilities grants and Millbrook Healthcare Ltd to remind them that the law allows the Council to award a discretionary grant if works have started but not been completed before the application was approved where the Council considers there are good reasons for doing so.

Case Ref: 20 005 529 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council has agreed to remind staff of the need to keep written records of their decision making in line with the Ombudsman’s Principles of Good Administrative Practice.

Case Ref: 20 003 544 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• The Council will share the final decision with staff in the planning department to highlight the importance of the Data Protection Act.