Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 013 228)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 01-Apr-2024

Summary: Miss X complained about the content of her daughter Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, about how the Council reviewed the Plan, provided education and refused her request for a reassessment of Y’s needs. We found the Council delayed in completing the annual review of Y’s EHC Plan, and did not tell Miss X of her appeal rights against its decision not to reassess Y’s needs. The Council agreed to apologise to Miss X and pay her £400 to recognise the frustration this caused her.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 013 039)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 02-Jun-2024

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to provide alternative education provision for her son, Y, when he could not attend school. The Council is at fault as it did not consider whether it had a duty to provide alternative provision for Y. The Council is also at fault as it did not keep Y’s part time attendance at school under review. The faults by the Council caused uncertainty to Mrs X and caused Y to miss five weeks of education provision. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Mrs X and making a symbolic payment of £500 to her for distress and a symbolic payment of £300 for Y. The Council will also reimburse the costs of the alternative provision made by Mrs X during the five weeks period of missed education provision.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 010 008)

Statement Upheld Other 25-Jun-2024

Summary: We found fault in the Council’s failure to consider the complaint about the withdrawal of support from the complainant’s (Mr X) daughters (Miss C and Miss D). The Council’s fault caused injustice to Mr X and his wife (Mrs X) as they had no opportunity to have their concerns investigated. The Council agreed to apologise and to consider Mr X’s complaint.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 014 118)

Statement Upheld Fostering 11-Jul-2024

Summary: Mr X complained the Council mishandled child protection enquiries by incorrectly recording sensitive details about him and misrepresenting what happened. We found the Council was not at fault for commencing enquiries. However, it did not follow correct procedure as it did not tell Mr X about the enquiries or the outcome. We found no fault in the Council’s recording of the enquiries, but there was an error in a later review report which the Council will correct.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 020 380)

Statement Upheld Disabled facilities grants 15-Jul-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council responded to her request for a disabled facilities grant. The Council has already apologised for incorrect advice it provided in a telephone call. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. There is also not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision Miss X is not eligible for the grant to justify our involvement.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (24 004 304)

Statement Upheld Domiciliary care 18-Aug-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a care provider. We could not achieve anything meaningful by investigating the complaint, as the Care Provider has already provided satisfactory remedies and made service improvements where appropriate.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 018 401)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 25-Sep-2024

Summary: Miss C complained the Council failed to consider the suitability of a property offered to her, failed to give her information about the housing register process or the right to seek a medical review, failed to provide her with suitable banding on the housing register, delayed considering her complaints and failed to refer her to the LGSCO. The Council failed to carry out the medical assessments properly and failed to signpost Miss C to the LGSCO. There is no evidence of fault in the rest of the complaint. An apology, payment to Miss C and reminder to officers is satisfactory remedy.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (24 008 038)

Statement Upheld Council tax 13-Oct-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council demanding council tax from Mr X. This is mainly because the Council has now put matters right adequately.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (23 020 879)

Statement Upheld Fostering 11-Nov-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained about failings in the Council’s child protection investigation concerning two children she and her husband were fostering. We found the Council at fault for not including all relevant professionals in its investigation, and for not having a safety plan for both children. This caused Mrs X and her husband frustration and uncertainty about whether the Council’s findings are reliable.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (24 005 317)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 13-Dec-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not complete an annual review of her son Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan in line with the statutory guidance after a review meeting in May 2023, and delayed issuing an amended final EHC Plan until December 2023. The Council was at fault. The Council will apologise to Mrs X and pay her £200 to recognise the frustration caused to her by the delay.