The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has published a new good practice guide for officers who make decisions on people’s housing needs based on medical assessments.
One of the key lessons highlighted in the guide is for councils to properly evidence that they have made their own decisions on medical needs and not automatically accepted the views of independent medical advisers.
Other lessons include ensuring they consider all the evidence when making decisions, and addressing all the issues raised, as well as not delaying carrying out medical assessments or reviews.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal, said: ‘The guides use summaries of our investigation decisions to highlight common problems, suggest good practice tips based on where things have gone wrong, as well as explain to practitioners our approach to handling complaints on the topics.
‘I hope local authority housing teams across England will take the guide in the constructive spirit to which it is intended and use it to reflect on their own processes and procedures to help prevent future injustice to people in their area.’
