West Sussex County Council
Annual statistics ?Find out more about annual statistics
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Complaints upheld
80% Complaints upheld by West Sussex County Council
80% of complaints we investigated were upheld.
This compares to an average of 80% in similar authorities.
24 upheld decisions
View upheld decisionsAdjusted for West Sussex County Council's population, this is
2.7 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.The average for authorities of this type is
3.4 upheld decisions per 100,000 residents.Statistics are based on a total of 30 detailed investigations for the period between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
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Compliance with Ombudsman recommendations
100% of cases were successfully implemented by West Sussex County Council
100% of cases we were satisfied the Council had successfully implemented our recommendations.
This compares to an average of 100% in similar authorities.
Statistics are based on a total of 22 compliance outcomes for the period between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
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Satisfactory remedies provided by the Council
13% Complaints with satisfactory remedy provided by West Sussex County Council
In 13% of upheld cases we found the Council had provided a satisfactory remedy before the complaint reached the Ombudsman.
This compares to an average of 6% in similar authorities.
3 satisfactory remedy decisions
Statistics are based on a total of 24 detailed investigations for the period between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023
View all satisfactory remedy decisions
Annual letters
We write to councils each year to give a summary of the complaint statistics we record about them,
and their performance in responding to our investigations.
Public reports ?Find out more about public reports
In the last nine years, the Ombudsman has published the following public interest reports against West Sussex County Council
Disabled boy missed out on education and support because of poor council practice
A West Sussex boy missed out on vital support because the county council decided he had the ‘wrong’ type of disabilities, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has reported.
Councillors considered wrong Ombudsman report
Councillors in West Sussex have been asked to revisit an Ombudsman’s decision, after they considered the wrong version of a critical report at a council meeting.
Councils reminded of their duty to provide alternative education
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is reminding council school attendance teams that their duty to provide alternative education may arise for reasons other than exclusion and illness.
Service improvements ?Find out more about service improvements
Since April 2018, the Council has agreed to make the following improvements to its services following an Ombudsman investigation. We list up to 10 cases below – click ‘view all’ if there are more.
Case reference: 23 011 004
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council should remind relevant officers of the importance of providing clear communication and responding in a timely manner.
Case reference: 23 007 198
Category: Transport and highways
Sub Category: Parking and other penalties
- The Council will provide guidance to relevant staff on the drafting of dropped kerb decision and appeal decision letters in relation to dropped kerb applications to ensure they are accurate and provide contemporaneous evidence the key information and any appeal grounds have been properly considered.
Case reference: 23 007 148
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council has agreed to provide guidance to staff on how to properly consider and record whether to provide alternative provision under its section 19 duty under the Education Act 1996 to children of compulsory age who cannot attend school because of exclusion, medical reasons or otherwise, even when a child remains on a school roll.
- The Council has agreed to ensure it has a robust process in place to regularly review the situation when it is aware of children out of school and records the actions arising from this review.
Case reference: 23 004 886
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- Through training or other means, ensure the relevant officers are aware that all issues raised in a complaint are appropriately addressed.
- Remind relevant officers of the importance of providing clear communication and responding in a timely manner.
- Provide details of the steps the Council has already taken to reduce its stage two backlog.
Case reference: 23 004 792
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Charging
- The Council has agreed to provide guidance/training to relevant staff on ensuring support plans clearly set out how the personal budget will meet an individual’s needs.
Case reference: 23 004 405
Category: Children's care services
Sub Category: Other
- The Council will remind complaint handling staff of the importance of considering discretion if they conclude a complaint is outside time limits.
Case reference: 23 002 908
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will remind relevant staff that it is the Council’s duty to ensure the specified special educational provision in an Education, Health and Care Plan is being provided. And they should investigate where information is provided that leads to a question about whether the provision was in place.
- The Council will remind relevant staff of the Council’s duties to advise parents of the outcomes of Education, Health and Care Plan annual reviews.
Case reference: 23 002 393
Category: Adult care services
Sub Category: Assessment and care plan
- Review what support it provides people who are supported by adult social care to find alternative care placements or housing to ensure they are sufficiently supported in finding placements.
- By training or other means, ensure social workers and other relevant staff are aware of the Council’s duty under section 47 of the Care Act 2014 to take reasonable action to protect property.
Case reference: 23 002 329
Category: Children's care services
Sub Category: Other
- The Council agreed to review how it appoints and trains its stage 3 panel chairpersons and panel members as part of the children's statutory complaints procedure. It should ensure that all stage 3 chairpersons have sufficient knowledge and experience to conduct stage 3 panels in line with the statutory guidance. It should also ensure it has appropriate quality monitoring processes in place to ensure stage 3 panels are held in line with the statutory guidance going forward.
Case reference: 23 000 130
Category: Education
Sub Category: Special educational needs
- The Council will provide evidence of the staff training sessions and Education Other Than at School [EOTAS] process documents made available for officers. As part of ongoing training and development, the Council should remind officers of the requirement to give a right of review against any decisions to refuse a personal budget as per Section 7 of the SEN (Personal Budget) Regulations.
- The Council will improve the way it makes decisions about requests for alternative provision. This could be in the form of staff training or a briefing paper. As part of this, the Council will draw officers’ attention to the Section 19 duties, accompanying statutory guidance and the LGSCO’s focus report ‘Out of School, Out of Sight?’
Last updated: 4 April 2015