Case Ref: 23 020 022 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed it will issue a reminder to relevant staff that ‘reason to believe’ is a low threshold and, if they need to make enquiries about vulnerability, this will usually mean that threshold is met.

Case Ref: 23 016 626 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Parking and other penalties

• The Council agreed to provide advice to relevant officers about the decision on this complaint and its implication for future similar cases.

Case Ref: 23 016 356 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will produce an action plan for how it can better monitor, at the earliest opportunity, failings in both delivery of Education, Health and Care Plans and alternative provision. This should include a review of the faults identified in this case.

Case Ref: 23 014 340 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind relevant officers and managers of the Council's statutory duties under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014. This will help to ensure that appropriate special needs provision set out in Section F of Education, Health and Care plans is delivered and that officers remember provision is non-delegable and owed personally to the child.
• The Council will remind relevant officers and managers of the Council's statutory duties under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 related to delivering alternative education provision. This will help to ensure that appropriate alternative education is organised for those affected as soon as possible.
• The Council will consider reviewing its policies and procedures to ensure it retains oversight and control for its Section 19 duties under the Education Act 1996. This will help to ensure the Council itself has full and proper awareness of what education is being delivered to those who should be receiving alternative education provision.

Case Ref: 23 011 871 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• The Council will remind all enforcement officers to record details of informal action they take on cases so there is a clear record of what has happened.

Case Ref: 23 008 255 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Local welfare payments

• The Council agreed to ensure it has procedures and guidance in place for officers for: i) choosing firms to provide removal quotes; ii) assessing and deciding which quote to accept; andiii) deciding when to make payments of quotes.

Case Ref: 23 008 741 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide evidence to show the plans it has in place to improve the process for seeking additional time and/or resources for EOTAS [education other than at school] students sitting exams.
• The Council will provide evidence of plans it has in place to improve the process of securing examination centres for EOTAS [education other than at school] students.

Case Ref: 23 004 915 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide training or guidance to staff responsible for dealing with complaints to ensure that where fault has caused injustice, the Council considers what would be a suitable remedy, in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies.
• The Council has agreed to ensure the Council keeps oversight of actions agreed as remedies to complaints until completed.

Case Ref: 23 004 319 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Consider what went wrong in this complaint and look at what measures the Council can put in place to ensure that EHC plans are issued within the statutory timescales following an annual review. The Council should report back to the Ombudsman with its findings and any improvements to its processes it decides to make.

Case Ref: 23 001 187 Category: Planning Sub Category: Planning applications

• By training or other means, share the learning from this complaint with planning officers to ensure they consider all relevant aspects of a planning application and the material considerations raised by an application.