Cheshire East Council (22 011 312)

Statement Upheld Direct payments 02-Apr-2023

Summary: Mrs L complained about the way the Council handled her mother, Mrs X’s direct payments. Mrs L said the Council was misleading and confusing in its communication and demanded payment Mrs X did not owe. The Council failed to provide clear and transparent financial information, incorrectly calculated Mrs X’s account three times and delayed in pursuing the debt for 20 months. The Council will write off Mrs X’s outstanding charges and pay Mrs X and Mrs L £200 each to recognise the frustration and uncertainty this caused.

Cheshire East Council (22 000 449)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 27-Apr-2023

Summary: Mr Q is making a complaint on behalf of his daughter (Miss G). He says the Council has failed to resolve issues relating to household bins being left for collection at a designated site which is close to Miss G’s home. We found the Council was at fault for not taking agreed enforcement action for apparent breaches to the rules which were repeated and long lasting. The Council had agreed to control this problem when we investigated the issue in 2019. It failed to do so and bins and household waste has often been left outside Miss G’s home for days unchallenged. This caused her an injustice because the fault adversely impacted on the use and enjoyment of her home. The Council has agreed to our recommendations for the Council to remedy the injustice suffered.

Cheshire East Council (22 012 925)

Statement Upheld Other 23-May-2023

Summary: Mr X complains the Council entered his land without giving notice. We found the Council was at fault, but the apology it provided to Mr X in response to his complaint was an appropriate remedy to the complaint.

Cheshire East Council (22 013 136)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-May-2023

Summary: The Council gave flawed advice that a transition review to name a post-16 placement would be completed earlier than usual due to the complainant’s anxiety. This raised expectations and caused disappointment and distress when the advice was reversed. The Council will apologise, pay £150 to acknowledge the distress caused, and make service improvements.

Cheshire East Council (22 014 684)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Jul-2023

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed issuing her child, Child Y’s amended Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan following an annual review in March 2022. The Council was at fault for the delay in issuing Child Y’s EHC plan following the annual review. The Council has already apologised to Mrs X for the delay, which was an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused. Child Y was not caused an injustice by the delay. The Council will provide evidence of how it will reduce similar delays to prevent a reoccurrence of the fault.

Cheshire East Council (22 014 515)

Statement Upheld Highway repair and maintenance 13-Aug-2023

Summary: We found fault on Mr J’s complaint about the Council failing to investigate reports of water ponding on the road outside his home following road works. It failed to explore this when he complained. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

Cheshire East Council (23 000 513)

Statement Upheld Council tax 11-Sep-2023

Summary: Mr X complains the Council took recovery action on a historic Council Tax debt that he was not liable for. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to contact Mr X before restarting recovery action. However, no injustice has been caused to Mr X as it would not have changed the action taken.

Cheshire East Council (23 001 848)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 08-Oct-2023

Summary: Mrs X complained about failures in the Council’s handling of her request for a change of placement for her son, Y. The Council was at fault for a delay in finalising an annual review carried out in May 2022, failings in its handling of the change of placement request, and failures in sharing information with Mrs X. It will apologise, make a symbolic payment, and use the learning from this case to make improvements to its services.

Cheshire East Council (22 013 706)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 12-Oct-2023

Summary: Mrs Y complained the Council failed to deliver all Miss Z’s special educational needs provision in her Education Health and Care Plan. We have found fault by the Council in failing to issue Miss Z’s plan within the statutory timescale and the delay and failure in delivering parts of her special educational needs provision from September 2022 to July 2023. This fault has caused injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy this by apologising to Mrs Y and Miss Z, making payments to recognise the impact of the missed provision on Miss Z, and to reflect Mrs Y’s distress, time and trouble and reporting to us on the position regarding the missing provision. It has also agreed to make a service improvement.

Cheshire East Council (23 003 097)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 07-Nov-2023

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide suitable alternative provision for her child W. She also complained the Council did not secure W’s special educational provision and delayed in reviewing W’s Education, Health and Care plan. The Council was at fault in how it considered whether it owed W the duty to provide alternative educational provision. It was also at fault for delay in reviewing W’s Education, Health and Care plan and for poor complaint responses. This caused Mrs X frustration and distress and meant W missed out on educational provision. To remedy their injustice, the Council will pay Mrs X £850, apologise and carry out staff training.