Sheffield City Council (21 009 789)

Statement Upheld School transport 13-Apr-2022

Summary: Mr X complained about the outcome of his home to school transport appeal for his son, which is causing the family financial difficulty. We find the Council is at fault. The Council’s appeal panel failed to consider all the evidence Mr X provided. We recommended it apologise to Mr X and offer him a fresh appeal hearing.

Sheffield City Council (21 000 037)

Statement Upheld Noise 24-Apr-2022

Summary: The Ombudsman found fault by the Council on Ms J’s complaint about its failure to take enforcement action against noisy neighbours. It failed to provide us with complete records, show it considered and reached a decision on her acoustic report, and failed to show whether officers properly considered and reviewed the case after witnessing two breaches of an abatement notice. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

Sheffield City Council (20 012 533)

Report Upheld Special educational needs 24-May-2022

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council failed to provide appropriate support to meet her daughter’s (Ms C’s) care and support needs following problems with her care provider. The Council delayed completing a safeguarding investigation into concerns about the care provision, and victim blamed Ms C in the outcome of the safeguarding investigation. The Council produced an action plan which it failed to follow, which further compounded the distress to Mrs B and Ms C and allowed poor service to continue for many years. Because of the problems with care services, and lack of appropriate support, Ms C could not attend college due to her anxiety and depression. The Council failed to properly review her Education, Health and Care plan between 2016 and 2021. It did not provide her with education from September 2017 to 2021, as it failed to consider alternative provision.

Sheffield City Council (21 003 003)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 26-May-2022

Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s failure to resolve disrepair problems with her temporary accommodation year, its decision to end its homelessness duty and failure to take account of her disability and vulnerability. There was fault in the Council’s handling, some of which has caused Miss X injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss X. It will also provide further training and guidance to relevant staff on the importance of offering and making reasonable adjustments.

Sheffield City Council (21 011 239)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 07-Jun-2022

Summary: It was for the Council to decide whether to suspend indoor collections of bulky waste, because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19. The Council should have ensured it made an assessment of the likely impact of this suspension on disabled people, but this did not cause a direct injustice to the complainant. There was an injustice to the complainant caused by the delay and confusion in the Council’s complaint handling, which it has now agreed to remedy. We have therefore completed our investigation.

Sheffield City Council (22 002 209)

Statement Upheld Allocations 26-Jun-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Mr X’s housing application. This is because the Council agreed to review its decision to cancel his housing application and has reinstated it. This action is in line with our Guidance on Remedies and there is nothing further we can achieve.

Sheffield City Council (21 007 520)

Statement Upheld Other 29-Jun-2022

Summary: Mr S complains the Council did not suitably consider his concerns about the care his daughter was receiving when in care. Mr S complains the Council did not recognise the impact of the issues he raised. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to consider suitable recommendations during the stage three review. This caused Mr S and Child P significant injustice and meant the Council did not fully address Mr S’s concerns. The Council has agreed a financial remedy and service improvements.

Sheffield City Council (21 011 029)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 10-Aug-2022

Summary: Miss F complains about the way the Council dealt with her son’s special educational and social care needs. There was some fault which caused uncertainty to her son. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay him £300 to acknowledge this.

Sheffield City Council (21 000 113)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Aug-2022

Summary: There was fault by the Council, because it did not take steps to secure alternative provision for a period of time when a child was not in education because of health reasons. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice this fault caused. The Council was also at fault for a small delay in issuing the child’s education, health and care plan, but this did not cause a significant injustice.

Sheffield City Council (22 005 513)

Statement Upheld Other 25-Aug-2022

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to refer Miss X to the Local Authority Designated Officer after it received a safeguarding referral for Miss X. The Council has agreed to pay Miss X £300 for the avoidable distress its actions caused.