London borough agrees to pay £5,400 after failing to resolve damp and mould issues for more than three years – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration at Newham Council over how it dealt with damp and mould, with the London borough taking more than three years to fix the issue.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Vulnerable children left in home with damp and mould after complaint handling failures by city council, Ombudsman finds – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration from Stoke-on-Trent City Council for a lack of stage one complaint response on two separate occasions, which left a resident and her two vulnerable children in a home with damp and mould.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th August 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman criticises council for “significant failings” under Equality Act that exacerbated poor mental health of resident – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration for Tandridge District Council after the local authority “did not abide by its duties under the Equality Act or its own safeguarding policy”, leading to the exacerbation of a resident’s poor mental health.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st June 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The power to withdraw under scrutiny in the Court of Appeal – Local Government Lawyer

‘In a judgment handed down on 10 May 2023, the Court of Appeal held that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman did not have a power to withdraw a report issued on completion of his investigation. Amy Tschobotko and Jason Tandy consider below the implications of the judgment for public bodies when discharging their functions, including when carrying out reviews and responding to legal challenges.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th May 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman issues special report on Catalyst Housing over ‘repeated failures’ indicative of wider service failure – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 13th, 2023 in complaints, housing, landlord & tenant, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘The Housing Ombudsman has called for significant improvements at Catalyst Housing ahead of its merger with another major social landlord, Peabody, following an investigation that found it “routinely failed to recognise formal complaints” and that aspects of its service were “arbitrary, disjointed and concerning”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Major social landlord to pay more than £2k after disabled resident left without use of toilet – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration at major social landlord Clarion after repeated drain blockages left a disabled resident unable to use a functioning toilet in their new build home.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ex-leader of London borough fails in High Court challenge over naming in Ombudsman report – Local Government Lawyer

‘A former leader of the London Borough of Haringey has lost a judicial review challenge over a decision by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to name him in a report.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman finds severe maladministration at housing association over failings in response to silverfish infestation – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration at housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley (MTVH) over its failings in responding to a silverfish infestation at a resident’s flat.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman calls for stronger regulation of managing agents – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 24th, 2022 in agency, housing, landlord & tenant, maladministration, news, ombudsmen, reports by sally

‘A culture clash between a regulated and largely unregulated sector creates challenges for the social housing sector’s engagement with managing agents, according to new research from the Housing Ombudsman.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman makes two severe maladministration findings against major social landlord over handling of temporary move for resident with vulnerabilities – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has made two severe maladministration findings for L&Q’s failure to minimise the disruption of a temporary move for a resident with physical and mental health vulnerabilities.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Housing Ombudsman urges social landlords to adopt “zero tolerance approach” on damp and mould – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has called on social landlords to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould, saying it needs to be a higher priority.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th October 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Carol Harlow: Windrush: Lessons learned or perhaps not? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘On 19 March, screened by the draft Corona: Defence of the Realm Bill, the long awaited Windrush: Lessons Learned Report (hereafter Lessons Learned) was published. For those who have missed out on the considerable publicity generated by the Windrush Generation scandal, a short account is in order. The Windrush Generation broadly comprises Commonwealth citizens who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK or “settled status” on the basis of having settled in the UK before 1973 when the Commonwealth Immigration Act 1971 came into force, and not since 1988 having left the UK for more than two years. Many of these elderly British citizens were unable to prove their right to live here to the satisfaction of the Home Office (perhaps because they entered the country on a parent’s passport or had lost their papers in the ensuing forty-odd years since their arrival). These unfortunate “surprised Brits” were denied healthcare, welfare benefits, pensions, lost their settled housing and long-term jobs, were taken into detention and even deported. They had become victims of the so-called “hostile environment” policy, a set of measures introduced in 2012 by Theresa May when Home Secretary with a view to making life as difficult as possible in the UK for people with no legal status to encourage them to leave. The measures were defended at the time by Theresa May, then Home Secretary, and incorporated into the Immigration Act 2014.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th April 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Housing Ombudsman issues guidance for landlords on responding to complaints – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Housing Ombudsman has published new guidance notes aimed at assisting landlords with policies and in responding to complaints.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th February 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Home Office outsourcing to ‘exploitative’ contractor must be reviewed, say MPs and lawyers – The Independent

‘MPs and lawyers have called for an urgent review into outsourced immigration services after it emerged Home Office profits on UK visas had surged by millions of pounds a week since visa operations were contracted to a private firm accused of exploiting applicants.’

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The Independent, 18th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Capita to challenge payment ordered to family of woman who died after benefits were wrongly stopped – The Independent

‘A private company which was instrumental in stopping the benefits of a disabled woman who later died is going to court in a bid to avoid paying £10,000 awarded in damages to the family.’

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The Independent, 6th August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Pensions Ombudsman revamps approach to ‘distress and inconvenience’ awards – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 18th, 2018 in compensation, complaints, consumer protection, maladministration, news, pensions by sally

‘The UK’s Pensions Ombudsman has introduced a fixed-amount award to compensate individuals who have suffered “distress and inconvenience” as a result of the maladministration of a pensions scheme.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Electoral Commission ‘failed to probe crooked Lib Dem donor’ – BBC News

Posted July 18th, 2014 in elections, fraud, maladministration, news, ombudsmen, political parties by tracey

‘The Electoral Commission is refusing to apologise after a watchdog ruled it had failed to properly investigate a Lib Dem donor later convicted of fraud.’

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BBC news, 17th July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Alison Hewitt family awarded £130,000 for stalker failings – BBC News

‘A family who endured a “living nightmare” at the hands of a stalker are to receive £130,000 because of Home Office failings.

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BBC News, 8th July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court reduces Ombudsman-awarded compensation due to local authority “financial pressures” – OUT-LAW.com

‘A recent High Court decision risks “emasculating” the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), an expert has said, after the judge allowed the authority to pay only one fifth of the compensation awarded against it.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 1st April 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Charity Commission ‘not fit for purpose’, says Margaret Hodge – The Guardian

‘Margaret Hodge has described the Charity Commission as not “fit for purpose” after a highly critical report warned that its failure to investigate fraud and abuse was undermining public faith in good causes.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk