Agenda item

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer

The Mayor has agreed pursuant to section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 that this shall be considered as an urgent item of business.

NOTE: An amendment to this report may be moved

at any time prior to a decision being taken.

The Monitoring Officer reported that the Local Government Ombudsman had published a report, finding maladministration by the Council in relation to an application for housing accommodation. The Ombudsman recommended that the Council should:

1          without delay make a suitable offer of accommodation to the complainant (referred to as “Ms Ford”)

2          pay £4,000 to the complainant and her family in recognition of the injustice they had been caused and the loss of opportunity to be rehoused in more suitable premises

3          arrange and pay for an additional week of respite care for the complainant’s disabled daughter (referred to as “Anna”), and

4          review the wording of its lettings policy.

The Council received a statement by Leader of the Council, accepting the findings of the report and apologising to the complainant for the errors made in her case. Under Council Procedure Rule 11.7, a Member’s question was asked and answered. The texts of the Leader’s statement and of the question and answer are set out in Appendix 3 to these minutes.

On behalf of the Labour Group, an amendment to recommendations was proposed:

That the words “with appropriate references to people with disabilities” be added after the words “be completed” on the first line of recommendation 3 of the Monitoring Officer’s report.

The amendment was ACCEPTED, and agreed without division.

The recommendations of the Monitoring Officer (as amended) were AGREED unanimously (51 votes to 0) (see division 1) and it was RESOLVED:

1.                  That the Council receive and note the Ombudsman's report on this case.

2.         That the Ombudsman's recommendations be accepted in full, and that arrangements be made to pay the recommended compensation of £4,000 as soon as possible and for the recommended respite care for Anna to be provided as soon as convenient to the family.

3.         That the current review of the housing allocations policy, with appropriate references to people with disabilities, be completed as soon as practicable and that disabled stakeholder groups be fully consulted on the new policy prior to its submission for approval.

4.         That the new policy be submitted for Cabinet approval, accompanied by a comprehensive Equality Analysis (EA) of the policy.

5.         That all staff dealing with housing allocations be required to undergo appropriate refresher training on equalities and diversity as soon as practicable, so that they are fully up-to-date on the Council’s Equality Act obligations.

6.         That all current housing applications be reviewed to ensure that full account is taken of any Equality Act 2010 obligations or requirements and that due regard has been paid to such applicants’ needs, with adjustments as necessary being made to ensure that there is no risk of the Council being held to have failed to take proper account of such factors in those cases, and that Equality Analyses of all of the Council’s Housing Policies, practices and procedures be undertaken, to be completed no later than 31 January 2013, to ensure that the statutory Public Sector Equality Duty is being complied with.

7.         That comprehensive information and guidance regarding the housing allocations policy and procedure be provided on the Council’s website for disabled tenants and applicants (together with information on who to contact for further guidance and support), that all such guidance be made in alternative formats on request and that the Housing Service designate particular members of staff for training and development in specialist expertise of disability best practice and the Council’s statutory obligations in order to improve the experience and treatment of disabled and vulnerable applicants and tenants.