Case Ref: 21 010 088 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Other

• Until the Council approves and publishes a new policy for dropped kerbs, it should make all decisions in line with the dropped kerb policy currently approved and on its website.
• The Council will advertise on their public domain for six months the following: “Birmingham City Council is inviting all rejected grass verged footway crossing applications (dated between 01 January 2021 to 14 March 2022) to request reconsideration of their application under the criteria advertised at the time. It will also advise those who had a grass verged footway crossing application rejected, to request a refund of their application fee.”

Case Ref: 21 009 899 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to develop procedures for offering temporary accommodation where it has accepted the main housing duty because the applicant is living in unsuitable accommodation. It should ensure these applicants are aware that the Council has an immediate duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation.

Case Ref: 21 009 110 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to provide an action plan, including timescales, to show how it intends to ensure homeless families do not remain in accommodation with shared facilities for more than six weeks. It will also provide evidence to show the number of families who have been in such accommodation for more than six weeks, and the average length of time homeless families have to stay before self-contained accommodation is provided.
• The Council has agreed to ensure that when officers review housing priority decisions, they list all the evidence they have considered in reaching their decision.
• The Council has agreed to review and audit current processes to ensure that when it carries out an assessment of a housing applicant’s case, it applies the correct award date, in accordance with its policy.
• The Council has agreed to take action to ensure its officers provide application decisions in writing, in accordance with its procedures. In particular, it will ensure officers write to the applicant with the Council’s housing priority decision after considering an exceptional needs form.

Case Ref: 21 008 682 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council agreed to remind relevant staff of the importance of recognising suitability review requests for temporary accommodation, and completing them in line with the guidance set by the legislation.
• The Council agreed to remind relevant staff of the Council’s obligation to take action to provide suitable temporary accommodation to people which they owe a duty.

Case Ref: 21 006 887 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Safeguarding

• Consider whether the officers who dealt with the safeguarding alert in November 2020, and the late-night telephone call require further coaching or training.
• Review whether the Council's procedures are sufficient to ensure risk is properly considered and investigated in safeguarding cases such as these.

Case Ref: 21 004 987 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to issue guidance to its housing staff about not fettering their discretion and the circumstances in which they should consider changing the number of bedrooms an applicant is able to bid on.

Case Ref: 20 012 501 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Domiciliary care

• remind staff about the importance of completing carer’s assessments and who is entitled to receive an assessment;
• remind staff that individual budgets should be based on a assessment not arbitrary financial limits.

Case Ref: 21 008 018 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council will provide us with further details about an appeals mailbox it says it has now put in place to ensure that appeals are processed in a timely manner. It should provide details of when this was implemented and how it will ensure this mailbox is properly monitored to ensure that the faults identified in this complaint are not repeated in future.
• The Council will provide us with information on how may stage 1 and stage 2 transport appeals the Council has received over the last six months and how quickly these have been arranged.
• The Council will confirm that in future its letters to appellants following a stage 2 appeal include information about how to complain to the Ombudsman’s office and tell us how this will be achieved.

Case Ref: 21 005 331 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Antisocial behaviour

• The Council will undertake a review of the complainant's case to identify why her noise complaint was delayed and not investigated. The review will focus on identifying service improvements to be implemented for the benefit of the Council’s customers in the future.
• The Council will make contact with the complainant to discuss her concerns relating to anti-social behaviour by her neighbour. The Council will consider Mrs V’s allegations and any evidence she provides. It will also consider its legal obligations relating to investigating such concerns and provide a written decision relating to any steps it proposes to take.

Case Ref: 21 004 902 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Reviews its main housing duty decision letter (where the Council has decided it owes the main housing duty) to ensure it includes details of a person’s right to seek a review of the suitability of their temporary accommodation.
• Provides the Ombudsman with an update on the progress of its temporary accommodation shortage plan of action in April 2022.