Case Ref: 24 014 947 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will remind relevant staff of the importance of carrying out a review or appeal where a service user makes a complaint in which they are clearly unhappy with a decision that carries a right of review or appeal.

Case Ref: 24 013 165 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Other

• In reply to my initially enquiries the Council noted some errors in the information it provides about the internal challenge process and the information on its webpage. Council will ensure all letters from the contractor explain people can complain to the council if unhappy with final reply from contractor. Council will also improve info on its website.I also asked the council to ensure it explains that people cannot appeal to court but can raise a defence.

Case Ref: 24 001 898 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will remind officers dealing with homeless applicants of: a)the need to provide a full picture at homeless interviews, particularly when an applicant has children, rather than only outlining the negatives so a homeless applicant can make an informed decision about how to proceed and to prevent any suggestion of gatekeeping;b)the need to record contemporaneous notes from its phone conversations with housing applicants to ensure reliability;c)the need to carry out a suitability assessment to identify the household's needs before making a placement in B&B or other temporary accommodation;d)the need to, where a B&B placement is the only available option, notify applicants who have children, or where a member of the household is pregnant, about the six-week maximum limit and their right to request a suitability review when the main housing duty has been accepted;
• The Council will make its housing officers aware of the Ombudsman’s guide for practitioners on domestic abuse and housing decisions, published in October 2024.
• The Council will review its procurement policy to reduce the use of B&B and increase the supply of other types of temporary accommodation.
• The Council will set up a process to actively monitor cases where families are in B&B to ensure it finds alternative accommodation before the six-week limit is reached.

Case Ref: 23 017 702 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• Review its procedures for considering housing register applications to ensure officers consider all the information provided by an applicant in support of their housing register application, send written decisions and ensure officers refer any homelessness application made at the same time to the homelessness team for consideration.

Case Ref: 23 013 762 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with evidence to show it has carried out compulsory refresher training on how to handle domestic abuse cases and reviewed and amended its procedures for assessing the suitability of accommodation.

Case Ref: 23 012 818 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to review its commissioning arrangements to ensure these can meet the timescales for needs assessments and provision of SALT and OT, once an EHC Plan is finalised.

Case Ref: 23 008 027 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• Take steps to consider what it can do to identify and increase its supply of temporary accommodation which is suitable for families. The Council should report back to the Ombudsman outlining what it will do to address this shortage.

Case Ref: 22 013 618 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• By training or other means, remind officers that they must consider all aspects of an applicant’s housing situation and the provisions of chapter 21 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance when considering if a person may be homeless.

Case Ref: 22 005 177 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Residential care

• The Council will invite the Care Provider to undertake a review, at a senior level, within three months. The review will focus on why the Care Provider did not notify the Council or Mrs Q of the large number of incidents over a 12-month period which meant falling short of the Fundamental Standards. The purpose of the review is to identify and implement measures which can prevent an injustice to other service users, as well as demonstrating compliance with the Fundamental Standards.

Case Ref: 22 010 385 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council will take action to ensure it signposts to the Ombudsman within its final complaint responses.
• The Council will remind officers who are responsible for Council policy that the Ombudsman expects councils to offer a review or appeal on its decisions.