London Borough of Lambeth (22 005 213)

Statement Upheld Private housing 03-Apr-2023

Summary: Miss S complains the Council should have earlier rehoused her, after she told various teams about mould and leaks in her private sector flat. And that it did not inspect the property for disrepair. The Ombudsman upholds the complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations, so we have completed our investigation.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 010 472)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 19-Apr-2023

Summary: The Council was at fault for delays in reviewing a child’s Education, Health and Care plan. This caused injustice as the child did not have an up to date plan and missed out on receiving some extra provision sooner. The Council agreed to apologise, put in place extra provision for the child and make a payment for the distress caused.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 010 826)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 01-May-2023

Summary: We found fault by the Council on Miss J’s complaint about the Council failing to move her from unsuitable temporary accommodation. She remained in temporary accommodation it decided was unsuitable for 17 months. It delayed dealing with her review request for five months. It also delayed dealing with her complaint for six months. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 005 457)

Statement Upheld Council tax 10-May-2023

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council because it is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome and we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 013 092)

Statement Upheld Looked after children 21-Jun-2023

Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council supported her daughter to move between foster home placements. There was fault in how the Council supported Y to move between foster care placements and how it applied the statutory complaints process. This caused avoidable distress and uncertainty for Miss X and Y. The Council agreed to fully apologise, pay a financial remedy and issue reminders to its staff.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 015 321)

Statement Upheld Council tax 02-Jul-2023

Summary: Ms X complained the Council sent council tax bills and correspondence to the wrong address. This meant she was unaware of the amount due and did not pay. The Council took enforcement action to recover the money which caused Ms X financial injustice and anxiety. The Council are at fault for not updating its records and failing to communicate with Ms X.

London Borough of Lambeth (23 001 108)

Statement Upheld Child protection 02-Jul-2023

Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council failed to write to the complainant to inform him of the outcome of safeguarding enquiries it made about his child and because it failed to respond to his complaint about the matter. The Council has now agreed to resolve the complaint by writing to the complainant to inform him of the outcome of its safeguarding enquiries and will consider his complaint.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 013 128)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 13-Jul-2023

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council failed to deal effectively with a mice infestation in his homelessness temporary accommodation. We found the Council was at fault in failing to take action to resolve the matter. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and make a payment to him. It has also agreed to take action to ensure the infestation is eradicated.

London Borough of Lambeth (22 014 738)

Statement Upheld Allocations 17-Jul-2023

Summary: Ms B complained that the Council has failed to provide her with suitable temporary accommodation and failed to carry out a review of the suitability of her current hostel accommodation. We found fault with the actions of the Council. The Council has agreed to provide Ms B with suitable temporary accommodation, pay her £2,600 and review its procurement process to increase the supply of different types of temporary accommodation.

London Borough of Lambeth (23 002 932)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 18-Jul-2023

Summary: There was fault by Serco which acts for the Council. Serco’s crew overfilled Ms X’s bin with waste from other properties, which broke the lid when emptying the contents into the lorry. The Council then wrongly said Ms X was responsible for overfilling and refused to give her a new bin for free. It also failed to review Ms X’s videos. The Council will apologise, make a symbolic payment and instruct Serco to stop using one bin to collect waste from other properties.