Sheffield City Council (23 014 381)

Statement Upheld Council tax 18-Apr-2024

Summary: Mrs P complains the Council took enforcement action for council tax on a property that was owned by her late husband, not her. We uphold the complaint because of some delay by the Council in acting on information Mrs P gave it. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

Sheffield City Council (23 010 844)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 16-May-2024

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to find a school place for her daughter after a Tribunal Order and she has missed out on suitable education for a significant period. We found the Council at fault as it had not been able to secure a school place or meet its legal duty to provide suitable full time education. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.

Sheffield City Council (23 013 909)

Statement Upheld Charging 21-May-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to properly respond to a complaint about Mrs Y being overcharged for care. We found there was fault in the monitoring and oversight of the care charges and there was a significant delay in responding to the complaint. However, we found the Council remedied the complaint appropriately.

Sheffield City Council (23 008 293)

Statement Upheld Local welfare payments 23-Jun-2024

Summary: Mr J complained the Council did not help him when he raised concerns about safety standards at his accommodation. He says it also delayed assisting him to claim a discretionary housing payment. We consider the Council is at fault. The Council offered an appropriate remedy for the personal injustice caused by its faults.

Sheffield City Council (24 000 397)

Statement Upheld Parking and other penalties 12-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the enforcement process and associated communications regarding a penalty charge notice. The Council has already taken appropriate action in response to the complaint and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve much more for the complainant.

Sheffield City Council (23 021 296)

Statement Upheld Charging 13-Oct-2024

Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not properly explain what he would have to pay for care he received following discharge from hospital. We found there were some missed opportunities and the Council made errors when initially completing the financial assessment. We recommended an apology and a modest payment to Mr X to reflect the impact these issues had. We found overall Mr X was advised there would be care charges and the care costs were payable.

Sheffield City Council (23 015 273)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 29-Oct-2024

Summary: Mrs Y complains about how the Council dealt with her mother’s National Health Service(NHS) joint package of health and social care and her care charges. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice to Mrs X and Mrs Y. The Council has agreed to remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mrs Y.

Sheffield City Council (23 021 148)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 01-Nov-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to find a setting for her daughter, Y, to sit her GCSE exams. Mrs X said she had to arrange for the exams to take place outside of her local area, in busy settings which would impact Y. Y’s tutor then arranged the exams in a local setting. Mrs X said she spent a lot of time arranging the exams and this impacted her, and Y’s, mental health. There was fault in the way the Council did not arrange for Y to sit the exams in a suitable location with suitable adjustments. This fault distressed Mrs X and Y. The Council will apologise, make a financial payment and provide a copy of its new policy.

Sheffield City Council (24 002 326)

Statement Upheld Council tax support 28-Nov-2024

Summary: Mr X complained about mistakes the Council made calculating his council tax reduction claim in 2020. The errors the Council accepted it made caused Mr X avoidable distress and worry. While the Council has already apologised, it also agreed to pay Mr X a financial remedy and review how it informs people of their appeal rights.

Sheffield City Council (23 020 598)

Statement Upheld Council tax 18-Dec-2024

Summary: Ms X complained the Council pursued historic council tax debts without providing a clear explanation or following correct procedures. She said the Council seeking to recover a debt after a long period affected her wellbeing and financial circumstances. We have found the Council at fault for administrative errors which contributed to the delay and led to the avoidable involvement of enforcement agents. This caused Ms X avoidable uncertainty and distress. We have made recommendations for the Council to remedy Ms X’s unaddressed injustice.