Case Ref: 22 001 472 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will introduce a process for tracking when annual reviews of EHCP’s are due for children who are not attending school.
• The Council will remind officers dealing with EHCP’s of the need to follow the code of practice when a parent asks for a reassessment and to ensure timescales are adhered to when completing EHCP’s following reviews.
• The Council will ensure there is a process in place to pick up arrangements for an annual review of an EHCP when officers are changed so there are no further delays.

Case Ref: 22 011 070 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council has agreed to amend its transport policy to include how it calculates the “fixed sum” per mile for the mileage allowance and how it will consider any complaints about this, including any request to backdate increases in the allowance.
• The Council has agreed to inform service users with a personal travel budget of its updated policy.

Case Ref: 22 008 894 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• If the Council is continuing to experience a backlog in educational psychology assessments, it should draw up an action plan to set out the steps it will take to address the problems created by the shortage and to reduce the delays. The action plan should include the timescales for taking action.
• By training or other means, remind officers of the Council’s duty under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide suitable education where children are unable to attend school and the factors they should consider when deciding if alternative provision should be made.

Case Ref: 22 008 011 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will ensure it has a process in place to check it has completed agreed actions in response to a complaint.
• The Council will identify any other Education Health and Care Plan reviews that have been subject to delay since October 2021, consider how it will complete those reviews or any subsequent review without further delay and, share its plan with the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 22 006 394 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will review its transport policy and training of officers / panel members to ensure that where a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan applies for transport and expresses a preference for a school which the Council does not consider to be the nearest suitable school, it applies the correct legal test. Officers should obtain costs for both placements, including transport, and carry out the required balancing exercise both when naming the school, and when deciding whether free transport should be provided.
• The Council will review and amend its transport policy and decision letters to ensure they explain the relevant law when there are two competing schools for a child with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
• The Council will review other transport decisions for children with Education, Health and Care Plans to check it has applied the law correctly when it has named a school on the Education, Health and Care Plan on the condition parents pay for transport.

Case Ref: 22 005 255 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council agreed to issue a reminder to all its social care staff who carry out adult needs assessments of our expectations that such assessments take into account the needs of carers, taking account of Government guidance in this area.
• The Council agreed to introduce a policy (or amend existing policy) when it is administering recovery of underpayments of client contributions towards social care costs. For those making those payments in instalments the Council has agreed they should receive regular updates advising of the balance outstanding to prevent the risk of them paying back too much as their circumstances may change over time.

Case Ref: 22 003 272 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transport

• The Council will review its procedures to ensure it provides applicants with a clear and detailed explanation of the reasons when deciding to refuse a Blue Badge application.

Case Ref: 22 003 032 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will remind staff:of the statutory timeframes for issuing draft, amended EHC Plans;of the statutory timeframes for issuing final, amended EHC Plans; andthat unresolved disagreements over provision and EHC Plans are for the SEND Tribunal, and parents, carers and young people should not have their appeal rights delayed.

Case Ref: 22 002 070 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• •Review its procedures and provide guidance to its staff to ensure EHCP annual reviews are completed within 12 months of the date the EHCP was issued and then within 12 months of any previous review. It should also ensure decisions made to maintain, amend or cease EHCP’s following reviews are issued within the statutory timescales.

Case Ref: 22 000 394 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transport

• The Council has agreed to remind staff processing blue badge applications of the need to address all the issuesraised in an application and explain why it has discounted evidence provided bythe applicant.