Service improvements

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 1 - 2 of 2 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council as a CSV file.

  • Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (24 021 237)

    Category: Housing Date: 24-Nov-2025

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council did not properly consider supporting evidence for his rehousing application and delayed reviewing his medical priority decision. The Council’s delayed medical priority review decision is fault. It caused Mr X distress and uncertainty. On the balance of probabilities, there is no fault in how the Council or medical review panel made its decision on Mr X’s medical priority, so we cannot question the outcome. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X for the delay, make a payment to recognise the distress caused and carry out the service recommendations.

    Service improvements

    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.

  • Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (24 014 390)

    Category: Housing Date: 29-Jan-2026

    Summary

    Miss X complained about delays and errors in the way the Council has dealt with both her homelessness application and her application for the housing register. We found there were significant delays and errors in the way the Council progressed Miss X’s homeless application which amount to fault. The Council’s failure to complete a review of Miss X’s request for medical priority is also fault. Miss X has experienced uncertainty and distress and incurred financial expense as a result of this fault. The Council will apologise and make payments to Miss X and carry out service improvements.

    Service improvements

    •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.

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