Annex 3 – A&G CGT report Ombudsmen cases

Omb Ref Which Omb Directorate Service area Date of final decision	Omb outcome	Summary of Final Decision	Actions	Date Actions Complete
24 008 632 LGSCO Place Highways 15/10/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.	na	na
23011844 LGSCO Children & Education Children 15/10/2024	Upheld: fault and injustice	We found fault by the Council on Mr Y’s complaint about its failures for several years to ensure his son attended school. It failed to send him copy minutes promptly, delayed, failed to follow its own Practice Standards, and had weak management oversight. This caused him and his son distress. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.	Pay £250 to Mr Y for the injustice caused by the identified failings. b) Pay £350 to his son for the injustice caused by the identified failings.	12/11/2024
24010617 LGSCO Corporate Services Council Tax 22/10/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate this complaint about a council tax query and summons because there is insufficient evidence of fault causing injustice.	na	na
24009430 LGSCO Place Planning 29/10/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not enforcing against planning breaches at a caravan site and how it investigated the matter. There injustice caused to Mr X by the matters complained of to warrant us investigating. We also cannot achieve the outcome he seeks.	na	na
24008531 LGSCO Adult Social Care & Integration Finance 4/11/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to refund her for the period her husband did not use the services of his care provider. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.	na	na
24011364 LGSCO Place Public Realm 6/11/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to relocate a public waste bin. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.	na	na
24 011 053 LGSCO Place Waste 04/12/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate this complaint about missed recycling collections. The complainant has confirmed collections are now made according to the published schedule. We consider further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.	na	na
24014405 LGSCO Corporate Services Council Tax 09/12/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate this complaint about Council tax discounts because there is a right of appeal to a Valuation Tribunal.	na	na
24013406 LGSCO Place Waste	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a missed garden waste collection. This is because Mr X has not suffered a significant personal injustice which would justify an investigation	na	na
24012809 LGSCO Place Planning 19/12/2024	Closed after initial enquiries – no further action	We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a planning application. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and the complainant has not suffered significant personal injustice from the result	na	na
202344656 HOS Place Housing 23/12/2024	Mal- administration	maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s concerns about damp, mould, and water ingress. Maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s complaint.	Orders	ongoing
			Within 4 weeks, the landlord is to:
			a. Write to the resident to apologise for the failings identified in this report.
			b. Pay the resident £1,100 compensation, comprised of:
			i. £850 in recognition of its handling of the resident’s reports of water ingress, damp, and mould.
			ii. £250 in recognition of its poor complaint handling.
			c. Assign, and provide the resident with details for, a member of staff to be a point of contact for him and to monitor the ongoing works through to completion.
			d. Contact the resident to confirm any household vulnerabilities and record these on its system to inform its approach to any future repairs.
			e. Instruct a surveyor to complete a comprehensive survey of the resident’s property and the flat roof across the block to establish:
			i. The cause of the water ingress into the resident’s property and the works required to remedy this. This should include an assessment of the flat roof and water drainage.
			ii. The levels of damp within the resident’s property (via the use of appropriate tools), whether any other factors may be contributing to the damp and mould growth, and whether it should undertake any remedial works to reduce the impact.
			iii. Any other works required to put right the internal parts of the resident’s property, and what internal remedial works it is willing to complete, or fund, to put right the damage to the decorations that was contributed to by its delays.
			f. As part of the survey, the landlord should consider arranging access with other ground floor residents to determine whether the issue affects more that just the resident’s property and whether wider remedial works are required.
			Within 6 weeks, the landlord is to write to the resident to:
			a. Provide the findings of the survey and the scope of works required to remedy water ingress and damp to the property. It should provide a copy of the surveyor’s report to both the resident and the Ombudsman.
			b. Offer a schedule setting out the timescale in which it intends to complete the works, including any internal remedial works.
			c. Consider the resident’s claim for additional energy costs as a result of needing to run a dehumidifier and confirm what evidence of additional costs it will require to consider the request.
			d. Give its decision regarding whether it is willing to complete, or fund, remedial works to the internal decoration of the property and what this would entail. It should consider the resident’s vulnerabilities and that he is unable to complete the work himself. If it decides not to complete any internal decoration work, it should support the resident with making a claim via its insurers should he wish to do so. The landlord is to complete a management review of the resident’s case to establish points of learning. It should provide a copy of the review to its senior leadership team and the Ombudsman.
			Within 12 weeks. The review should consider (at a minimum):
			a. Its processes for diagnosing, prioritising and resolving leaks and whether it has adequate systems in place to ensure that it can differentiate between leaks reported in different areas of a block or building.
			b. Its current record keeping practices alongside the recommendations made in the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management (available on our website). It should provide a copy of its self-assessment as part of the review.
			c. Any staff training, including in relation to its complaints handling (to comply with the Complaint Handling Code) and record keeping, that may improve its future responses to similar cases and complaints.
			d. Points of learning that can be taken from the case, and actions it could take to improve its future response to similar cases. The landlord is to write to the Ombudsman to provide evidence of compliance with these orders within the specified timescales.
			Recommendations
			It is recommended that the landlord reviews its complaint handling policy to bring this in line with the statutory Complaint Handling Code alongside its ongoing communication with the Ombudsman’s Duty to Monitor team. It should confirm how it intends to proceed with its statutory obligation within 4 weeks