Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 007 314)

Statement Upheld Enforcement 01-Apr-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to comply with planning approval at a site it owns. The Council was at fault for failing to investigate or respond to Mrs X’s allegation about the breach of planning approval. It has agreed to apologise for the avoidable frustration that caused her and investigate the allegation.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (19 018 540)

Statement Upheld Allocations 30-Apr-2021

Summary: There was fault by the Council. It decided that it should take a homeless application from Miss B but took too long to do this, despite Miss B’s physical and mental ill health. The Council provided interim accommodation during this time but the delay and uncertainty caused Miss B distress. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and make a payment to her in recognition of the distress it caused. The Council has also agreed to review whether Miss B’s current accommodation is suitable.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 011 152)

Statement Upheld Other 01-Jun-2021

Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision not to proceed with her vehicle crossover (dropped kerb) which it had previously approved in June 2017. She says the Council has retrospectively imposed a time limit to the approval. We find fault with the Council and have made recommendations.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 007 313)

Statement Upheld Pollution 09-Jun-2021

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council missed refuse collections from a site it owns resulting in rats at her property. The Council was at fault for failing to investigate or respond to Mrs X’s allegations about the matter. It has agreed to apologise for the avoidable frustration that caused her and contact Mrs X to see if there is still an issue with rats at her property.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 010 224)

Statement Upheld Child protection 21-Jun-2021

Summary: An independent investigation upheld some of Ms M’s complaints about contact with her children. The Council accepted the findings and recommendations. Contact has still not taken place, but this is not the result of fault by the Council.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 008 175)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 22-Jun-2021

Summary: Mr D complains about the quality of care whilst he was a looked after child, in particular that he did not receive a suitable education and arrangements for contact with his family were inadequate. The Council has accepted there was fault and has apologised. The fault caused Mr D to lose the opportunity to achieve GCSEs and has damaged his relationships with his family. The Council has agreed to make a payment to remedy those injustices.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 012 708)

Statement Upheld Planning applications 21-Sep-2021

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council failed to properly consider the impact on her amenity when it granted planning permission at a neighbouring property. We find fault with the Council for failing to evidence its decision making. We also found some fault in its complaint handling. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice to Mrs B.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (20 014 433)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 01-Dec-2021

Summary: The Council regularly fails to provide Ms B’s assisted bin collection. This has been continuing for years, and despite the Council overseeing the service, the problems persist. Ms B is disabled and has a son with a life-threatening medical condition. When the Council fails to return bins to the collection point and leaves them behind her car, she worries about getting out in an emergency. The Council will oversee Ms B’s collections for a further three months and provide her with a direct contact to report problems. The Council will acknowledge Ms B’s distress, time, trouble and financial impact by a total payment of £540.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (21 004 385)

Statement Upheld Council tax 02-Dec-2021

Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to charge her council tax on an empty property she owned between May 2020 and September 2020. We find the Council was at fault as it failed to consider whether to use its discretionary powers to apply a discount to Miss X’s council tax. The Council has already reviewed its decision about Miss X’s council tax and waived the payment. That remedies any injustice caused.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (21 003 291)

Statement Upheld Allocations 13-Dec-2021

Summary: Miss D complains the Council failed to deal with her complaints of anti-social behaviour (ASB) that she was suffering from her neighbours. She also complains the Council has not assessed her medical needs for housing and that it did not respond to her request for a stage two escalation in line with its policy which has caused her distress. We find fault with how the Council responded to the issues above and it has agreed to apologise, invite Miss D to complete a medical assessment form and make a payment to her in recognition of the distress caused and Miss D’s time and trouble pursuing the complaint.