LGO Individual Decisions

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to carry out the recommendations set out by the statutory complaints process. We find the Council at fault for failing to complete the recommendations in the panel review, causing uncertainty and frustration for Ms X. The Council should apologise, reconsider the remedy findings from the statutory complaints panel and make a further award to Ms X for the injustice caused.

Summary: Ms D complains the Council delayed assessing her housing need and providing suitable housing. I have found substantial delays by the Council resulting in Ms D not being provided a reasonable level of assistance for a total of 20 months. During that time she has had to occupy an unsuitable property, is effectively housebound because of stairs to access the property and cannot use the bath. The Council has agreed to pay redress and make service improvements.

Summary: Miss X complained the Council sent her enforcement letters about penalty charge notices when it should not have done. We have not found fault in the Council’s actions. We do not uphold Miss X’s complaint.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful application for a Discretionary Housing Payment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a house Ms X leased to the Council. This is because it is reasonable to expect Ms X to use her right to take court action.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to end its housing prevention duty as it considers her accommodation as suitable. This is because it is reasonable for Miss X to ultimately challenge the Council’s decision at court.

Ms X complained the Council did not act when she raised concerns about Mr Y’s welfare. She also complained about the Council’s handling of her complaint. Ms X said the Council’s actions caused distress to Mr Y, his family and Ms X. The Council was at fault. It has not evidenced it considered if it needed to act to safeguard Mr Y. This left Mr Y at risk of harm and caused Ms X, Mr Y and his family uncertainty. The Council’s complaint handling was poor and this caused frustration to Ms X.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about council tax arrears because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful application for a Discretionary Housing Payment. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a personal injury. It is reasonable to expect her to apply to Court.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council has failed to adequately meet his care and support needs. Mr X has been in a temporary accommodation since June 2024 which he says is not suitable for his care needs. We found there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council has assessed or met Mr X’s care needs.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of the Chairperson of an Initial Child Protection Conference. Our intervention is unlikely to add anything significant to the investigation the Council has carried out, or lead to a different outcome, and is not therefore warranted.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. We will not investigate the Council’s review decision on the suitability of accommodation offered under its homelessness relief duty. It is reasonable for the complainant to appeal the decision to the County Court.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to take sufficient action in response to his complaint about noise and anti-social behaviour from his neighbour’s property. There were faults by the Council with how it dealt with Mr X’s concerns, its poor communication with him and its delays with its complaint handling. This caused injustice to Mr X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the management of the complainant’s rent account and a key fob. This is because they are housing management issues which we have no power to investigate.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about missed waste collections and that the waste collection crew were failing to lock the gates appropriately after collections. This is because an investigation would not lead to any further findings or worthwhile outcomes.

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to properly assess her care needs and to provide support to meet those needs. The Council was at fault. It has failed to assess Ms X’s needs and its communication with Ms X was poor. It has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused and to reassess her care needs

We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a Council’s decision not to arrange for a speech and language assessment as part of an Education Health and Care Plan for his son. This is because Mr X has the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and it would be reasonable for him to do so.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice issued for a moving traffic contravention.

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. She says this impacted her child’s education, emotional wellbeing and caused financial strain. We find the Council at fault which caused injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X.

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s actions when she reported a bed bug infestation to it. We found fault because the Council failed to act in a decisive and timely manner throughout the process. It also failed to adequately communicate with her in both its general communication and its complaint responses. This caused Mrs X significant avoidable distress, frustration and uncertainty. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mrs X and share guidance with relevant officers.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about disrepair in the complainant’s home and her priority on the housing register. This is because we cannot investigate part of the complaint and because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice for the other parts.

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s mismanagement of her late father Mr Y’s finances and benefit claims.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council stopped his son Mr Y’s direct payment and did not manage the transition from childrens to adult social care adequately. We upheld the complaint. The Council did not deal with the transition in line with the Children Act 1989 or Care Act 2014. This meant Mr Y missed out on care and support to which he had a legal entitlement and Mr X lost out on opportunities to have a regular break from his caring role. Both suffered avoidable distress. The Council will apologise, make payments to reflect the injustice and review its services to ensure transition cases are

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an alleged data breach by the Council. This is because complaints about data matters such as this, are best considered and decided by the Information Commissioner’s Office.