Case Ref: 23 010 903 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Review its invoicing systems and processes to ensure that submitted invoices are recorded on an accurate date and approved in sufficient time to enable them to actually be paid in the required timeframe.

Case Ref: 23 010 854 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council has agreed to provide evidence to show that it has updated its letter templates to include and make clear the right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation.
• The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure housing officers do not leave homeless applicants in temporary accommodation before they are satisfied that it is in a suitable condition, with functioning heating and hot water.
• The Council has agreed to change its letter template to ensure that when it places a family with dependent children in bed and breakfast accommodation under the interim or main housing duty, it confirms that the Homelessness Code of Guidance states this should be limited to no more than six weeks.

Case Ref: 23 010 362 Category: Housing Sub Category: Private housing

• The Council was at fault in the way it considered whether accomodation was reasonable for a tenant to remain in after a landlord started possession proceedings. The Council have agreed to remind its staff about the relevant sections of the homelessness code of guidance.

Case Ref: 23 009 085 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should review its alternative education policy alongside our published guidance ‘Out of school, out of sight?’ July 2022. It should consider the recommendations we made, specifically that around reviewing and amending plans as necessary, and how it can incorporate these recommendations into its policy.

Case Ref: 23 002 398 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• By reviewing its procedures or other means, ensure it considers whether education provision is reasonably accessible in the event a child is not attending school full time or at all for ‘other’ reasons and keeps a record of this decision.

Case Ref: 23 012 030 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to remind staff responsible for completing reviews of allocations decisions to ensure they consider and address any matters and evidence raised by the applicant in the review request as well as their application.

Case Ref: 23 011 843 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to investigate why it did not consider a request for a review which was made in March 2022 until October 2023, and it will provide details of the action it will take to ensure similar failings do not occur in future.

Case Ref: 23 010 308 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Domiciliary care

• A manager with responsibility for social workers dealing with hospital discharge should meet with a management counterpart in the Early Intervention and Care Team (EICT). They should discuss Care Provider B’s feedback regarding Miss Y’s discharge and care planning and document lessons learned. They should produce a briefing note for staff dealing with hospital discharge to set these out. They should ensure that the briefing note covers care providers’ capabilities and how to establish that a given care provider can meet a service user’s needs and has sufficient time at care calls to do so.

Case Ref: 23 010 230 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to review the wording of its letter template for requesting financial records to ensure it clearly explains the evidence it needs to see.

Case Ref: 23 009 676 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council has agreed to highlight this case to relevant officers to ensure that when a medical professional gives their view that an applicant’s accommodation is having a detrimental impact on their health, the officer properly considers whether the medical professional is referring to their current address.