Case Ref: 24 011 622 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council will share the learning from this complaint with relevant staff, including how to decide the date funding for adult social care should start and the importance of resolving challenges to its decisions without delay.

Case Ref: 24 001 193 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• Averill House Care Home, a Council commissioned care home, could not provide copies of the records of when professionals visited the care home. The Council has agreed to satisfy itself the Care Provider has adequate systems in place to ensure it maintains individual’s case records appropriately.
• The Council commissioned Care home, Averill House Care Home, failed to seek support early enough when a resident struggled with swallowing. The Council has agreed to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the lessons learned exercise carried out by the Care Home team regarding the importance of reviewing medicines when a person is experiencing a decline in physical health.

Case Ref: 23 021 095 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to brief all staff working on EHC needs assessments of our expectations for remedying complaints and good administrative practice in line with our Guidance on Remedies. Key principles include:1.we expect the Council to let parents and children / young people know if it is not going to be able to meet the statutory timescales;2.we expect the Council to consider offering a symbolic payment if it receives a complaint from a parent about delay and this has resulted in a significant injustice to their child; this will be most apparent in cases where a child’s provision will have been impacted by a delay – for example, following amendment of an EHC plan or where a parent has gone on to successfully appeal the Council’s decision following an annual review.

Case Ref: 23 019 851 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to identify the action it is going to take to ensure urgent cases are treated as urgent throughout the process, and not just at the start.

Case Ref: 23 019 237 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• I recommended the Council presents a copy of myfinal decision to the next meeting of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Panel.

Case Ref: 23 018 886 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to remind officers of its responsibilities to secure suitable alternative education provision, under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. It will also share a copy of the Ombudsman's focus report Out of school, out of sight? with the reminder.
• The Council has agreed to remind officers of the statutory timescales for completing annual reviews of Education, Health and Care Plans, including the need to confirm the Council's decision in writing and provide appropriate appeal rights.

Case Ref: 23 013 311 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will review how it currently promotes school transport entitlements to schools and parents, identify any areas for improvement and make a timebound action plan to implement the improvements it identifies.
• The Council will remind all special educational needs case officers to inform parents and carers about home to school transport support when an Education, Health and Care Plan is being finalised, and to record that the information has been shared.
• The Council will provide training for all staff in the transport team, including senior managers, covering the legislation and statutory guidance for considering eligibility for mandatory home to school transport support, before discretionary support, and in setting out its decision on applications and appeal response in line with the statutory guidance.
• The Council will share the learning from this investigation into how the Council considers school transport support application with the Council officers involved in this case.

Case Ref: 23 003 561 Category: Education Sub Category: School admissions

• The Council agreed to update its processes to ensure it informs applicants who request consideration of exceptional social or medical circumstances about the outcome of its decision. If the Council rejects the application before the exceptional circumstances panel is held, or the application is refused for other reasons, it will tell the applicant why.

Case Ref: 22 017 428 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council should review its charging policy for non-residential care services, so it allows discretion for considering loan payments.

Case Ref: 22 015 555 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• Carry out a review of procedures especially in respect of the complaints process and the Chief Executive's input to ensure timescales are adhered to.