Case Ref: 24 023 456 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will, using this case as an example, issue updated guidance to staff that clearly sets out:the Council’s statutory duties under S19 of the Education Act 1996;the Council’s statutory duties under S42 of the Children and Families Act 2014; andshare the Ombudsman’s focus report Out of school, out of sight?
• The Council will consider reviewing its policies and procedures to ensure it retains oversight and control of its section 19 duties and section 42 duties.

Case Ref: 24 023 155 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• •remind relevant staff of the procedures and timescales involved in completing phase transfer reviews

Case Ref: 24 022 715 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will provide us with monthly figures for educational psychology advice requests and response times for quarters one, two and three of 2025.

Case Ref: 24 021 778 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will ensure it has a robust process in place to ensure phase transfer reviews do not impact on the Council's compliance with its statutory duty in other areas of the Education, Health and Care Plan process.
• The Council will ensure it has a process in place to quickly identify any cases which need to be reallocated due to staff absence. The process should include prompt identification of cases, and correspondence with the family to ensure communication is not impacted due to staff absence.

Case Ref: 24 017 205 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council has greed to amend its policy to ensure in no longer restricts limits on the amount of disability related expenditure it will consider to the level of disability benefit received by the person.

Case Ref: 24 016 560 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will develop an action plan which sets out how it plans to address the ongoing delays with completing annual reviews of Education, Health and Care Plans, and ensure statutory timeframes are met.

Case Ref: 24 016 283 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council should remind officers, in writing, to ensure the views of persons who are interested in the care of an individual are considered and recorded when completing adult social care assessments.

Case Ref: 24 015 869 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will complete staff training to ensure all relevant staff are aware of the two-part legal test set out in section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014, which must be considered when the Council decides whether it should carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. This training should include details of how staff should record their consideration of the legal test and how to correctly explain the two-part legal test when communicating with parents and young people.
• Where the Council uses template letters to explain refusal to assess decisions, this template letter should be amended to ensure it accurately reflects the two-part legal test which must be met for the Council to carry out an Education, Health and Care needs assessment.

Case Ref: 24 013 429 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council will ensure the information on its website and in leaflets and letters about Deferred Payment Agreements:a) is detailed and clear;b) includes information about Disposable Income Allowance as well as Personal Expenses Allowance and how the Council ring-fences these sums.

Case Ref: 24 012 158 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• • Provide guidance to staff to ensure all complaints are dealt with within the timescales set out in its complaints procedure.
• • Provide guidance to staff to ensure EHC Plans are issued within statutory timescales.