Case Ref: 25 017 212 Category: Education Sub Category: Other

• Review and update the Gifted and Talented Grant application process.

Case Ref: 25 000 658 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council agreed to undertake a review to consider:- the procedures used to prioritise cases when someone waits for a care needs assessment; - the communications it has with those waiting to cover matters such as waiting times and priority given to their case; - the communications it has once social care needs assessments begin to ensure they understand the steps involved before any care is put in place; - the advice and procedures it has in place to support social workers when they need to set up an urgent package of care before a needs assessment and / or care and support planning has fully completed.

Case Ref: 24 021 237 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will review how it retains records to ensure key documents are available when requested.
• The Council will remind relevant staff the importance of proper record keeping.

Case Ref: 24 019 391 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling, adhering to timescales and offering correct escalation rights.

Case Ref: 24 018 450 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will identify areas of staff shortages (including Educational Psychologists and other key officers). It will produce and provide the Ombudsman with an action plan outlining steps it has taken or intends to take to address these shortages.
• The Council will remind relevant officers, either through training or a briefing note, of the Council’s duties to consider its section 19 duty as soon as it is aware that a child is not attending school full-time. The Council will provide relevant officers with a copy of the Ombudsman's guidance Out of school, out of sight? published July 2022.

Case Ref: 24 017 448 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• • Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling and giving an escalation right.
• • Remind relevant staff of the Council duty to include provisions to assist in preparation for adulthood in EHC Plans from year nine.

Case Ref: 24 014 390 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• •provide details of the action it is taking to reduce the time it is taking to allocate and assess homeless applications;
• •carry out a review of its procurement of temporary accommodation and identify ways of increasing the supply of different types of self-contained temporary accommodation;
• •provide guidance / training for officers to ensure that homelessness applicants who the Council accepts a duty to provide interim accommodation for, receive suitable accommodation;
• •issue a reminder to its staff who respond to complaints about housing and homelessness, about the difference between the Housing Ombudsman and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and where to direct complainants.

Case Ref: 24 008 435 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• the Council has agreed to put in place, or strengthen, systems to ensure collection crews are aware of properties with assisted collections on their rounds, and what this involves in each case.
• the Council has agreed to put in place, or strengthen, systems to liaise with organisations that are planning large-scale roadworks to develop contingency plans to mitigate the impact of their work on waste collections, particularly assisted waste collections.

Case Ref: 24 007 933 Category: Other Categories Sub Category: Land

• The Council has agreed to send a memo to all complaint handling staff reminding them stage one complaint responses should include details on how to escalate a complaint to the second stage of its complaints process.

Case Ref: 24 006 677 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• Review the way it considers overcrowding and bedroom need, and ensures relevant staff are aware of and take account of the statutory overcrowding standards.
• Ensure relevant staff signpost complainants to the correct ombudsman.