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.

Case Ref: 23 000 003 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council will remind relevant staff that Section 22 (3A) of the Children Act 1989 means complaints about the education of a Looked After Child should be considered using the statutory children's complaints procedure.

Case Ref: 22 012 553 Category: Planning Sub Category: Enforcement

• The Council agreed to review what improvements it can make, both in terms of additional resources and technology, to ensure: the planning department chases responses from those consulted promptly without delay when overdue; and responses received from those consulted are passed onto applicants promptly where appropriate to do so.
• The Council agreed to remind planning and enforcement officers of the need to make and retain a record showing the assessment and decision made to not take enforcement action.

Case Ref: 22 007 513 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will write to its partner landlords to request that they do not skip applicants at the pre assessment stage to ensure they are not disadvantaged if they require an occupational therapy assessment to determine the suitability of a property they have been matched with.

Case Ref: 22 002 194 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council has agreed to provide training for all relevant staff to make sure they are aware of the Council's duties under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide provision or suitable education for children of compulsory age who cannot attend school because of medical reasons or otherwise.
• The Council will remind staff of the statutory guidance which says councils should, where medical evidence is not quickly available, consider liaising with other medical professionals and look at other evidence to ensure a minimal delay in arranging adequate provision for children.

Case Ref: 22 010 031 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• We have made service improvement recommendations to the Council previously to ensure future Education, Health and Care Plan reviews are held on time, and the action required following the review meeting is taken according to statutory timescales. We ask that compliance with our decisions be monitored.The Council should ensure officers know that it is the Council’s responsibility, not the school’s, to provide alternative provision for a child.

Case Ref: 22 009 086 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council has agreed to remind its adult social care staff that the goals a person has around expressing their faith should be made clear in their needs assessments.
• The Council has agreed to circulate to its adult social care staff the Care Quality Commission's information guide on 'Culturally Appropriate Care'.

Case Ref: 22 007 145 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council will review its processes in line with Section 4 of the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support Statutory Guidance. This will help to ensure it provides sufficient accessible information for people to plan for their care services and understand the financial effect these may have on their finances.