Service improvements

Suffolk County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 11 - 20 of 20 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Suffolk County Council as a CSV file.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 019 368)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 22-Nov-2024

    Summary

    Mr D complained on behalf of his mother that the Council had overcharged for her care and support and failed to issue invoices. He also complains about delay responding to his complaint. We found fault causing an overcharge, distress and time and trouble. The Council has agreed to take the actions set out at the end of this statement to remedy the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    •Review its adult social care charging systems to ensure invoices can be issued to self-funders who have not had a full financial assessment and that there are regular checks that commissioned care is being evidenced and invoiced.•Check that it is monitoring whether regular care and support reviews are being carried out of self-funders.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 019 255)

    Category: Education Date: 11-Nov-2024

    Summary

    Mrs B complained that the Council failed to provide transport for her son, C to attend his educational provisions for almost a year. We found the Council, failed to provide transport, delayed excessively in reaching a decision on C’s eligibility for transport and also in offering Mrs B a personal travel budget. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs B, pay her £500 and improve its procedures for the future.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review its transport procedures to ensure (as far as is practical) arrangements are in place for transport by the start of the school year, including cases involving children with an EHC Plan and that the Council is clear in its decisions regarding exceptional circumstances and accompaniment.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 019 006)

    Category: Education Date: 02-Sep-2024

    Summary

    Mrs B complained the Council failed to comply with the statutory timeframes for completing an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her child, X. Mrs B says this has impacted X’s access to education. We have found the Council at fault. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay a financial remedy to Mrs B and X and complete service improvements to remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its procedure for considering and recording section 19 decisions to ensure it is correctly and accurately recording all section 19 decisions.The Council will circulate guidance to its Special Educational Needs and inclusion officers about the Council's duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to consider alternative provision from the point it becomes aware a child is out of school and record its decision making on this.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 018 834)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 02-Sep-2024

    Summary

    Mrs D complained about the Council’s actions when her husband Mr D went into a care home in 2023. We have found some fault which caused Mrs D distress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay her £300 and improve its procedures for the future.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review its care assessment procedures so that when there will be a delay in allocating a case for assessment, the Council provides clear advice and information about the likely waiting period and addresses any immediate concerns about interim care and finances.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 016 653)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 28-Aug-2024

    Summary

    Mr D complained the Council delayed completing a financial assessment for his mother. He also complained the Council delayed reviewing his stepfather’s care and support needs. We find the Council was at fault for its delays in completing the financial assessment and its delays in reviewing Mr D’s stepfather’s care and support needs. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will issue written reminders to relevant officers to ensure they act without undue delay when a service user or their relative asks for a review of a care and support plan.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 015 464)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 28-Nov-2024

    Summary

    the Council failed to explain the reasons for the delay completing a section 17 assessment, failed to carry out that assessment properly, failed to explain why it did not consider Mrs B’s son qualified for a level 5 Activities Unlimited award, delayed dealing with Mrs B’s complaint and failed to keep her up-to-date. The remedy the Council has already offered, alongside some procedural recommendations, is satisfactory.

    Service improvements

    The Council will consider putting in place a procedure to ensure tribunal recommendations are followed up on so similar problems do not occur in future.The Council will remind those investigating complaints at stage two of: a)the need to ensure the person complaining is happy with any complaints which have been reworded and understand how that will affect the investigation;b)the need to ensure investigating officers are clear with complainants where parts of the complaint are matters the Council cannot reach a firm conclusion on.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 014 802)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 20-Aug-2024

    Summary

    We found fault with the Council in the way the Council communicated with the complainant (Mr X) about the charges for his care services. We also found fault with the Council for its failure to take account of its duties under the Equality Act 2010. The Council’s fault caused distress to Mr X, which lasted for many months. The Council has agreed to apologise, review adjustments needed by Mr X in his communication with the Council and make a symbolic payment to recognise Mr X’s distress. The Council has also agreed some service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind the Adult Social Care staff of its duty to follow the adjustments agreed for the service users. The staff will review our documents: “Principles of Good Administrative Practice” and “Equal Access: Getting it right for people with disabilities”.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 014 605)

    Category: Education Date: 04-Sep-2024

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council wrongly asked him for a contribution to his son’s post-16 school transport. There was fault with how the Council took too long to issue a final EHC plan for Y and how it decided whether to charge a contribution towards Y’s school transport costs. It agreed to review its decision, apologise for the distress caused to Mr X and Y, and pay them a financial remedy.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review how it makes decisions under its school transport policy for young people with an EHC plan. It should ensure it considers whether applicants are likely to receive free transport as an adult and, if so, whether it is still appropriate to charge a contribution, considering the statutory guidance.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 013 678)

    Category: Education Date: 10-Sep-2024

    Summary

    Ms M complains the Council has not arranged the specialist occupational therapy in her daughter G’s December 2021 Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, and has not reviewed the Plan. The Council offered payments for the missed provision and recognises the need to review the Plan. The Council has contacted a therapist identified by Ms M to arrange the provision.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its procedures for annual reviews to ensure they comply with all relevant legislation, regulations and government guidance.

  • Suffolk County Council (23 005 445)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 18-Jul-2024

    Summary

    We investigated a complaint about the care and support provided to Mr O’s late brother Mr K by a Council and NHS Trust. We found fault by both organisations. The Council took too long to allocate Mr K a social worker and too long to respond to Mr O’s complaints. The Trust took too long to act on concerns about Mr K’s fitness to drive or to arrange an assessment of his mental capacity. The communication between the Council and Trust was also poor at times. These failings caused Mr O and Mr K avoidable distress and frustration. The organisations have agreed to apologise, pay a financial remedy, and take actions to improve their services.

    Service improvements

    The Council will consider the lessons learned from this case, and will confirm the action it has taken to improve services in relation to: • the timescale for allocating cases to social workers • responding to complaints and keeping complainants informed • communicating effectively with linked NHS services and working together in a co-ordinated and patient-centred way

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