A London council is being criticised for a 14-month delay in making housing benefit payments to a woman after she won an appeal against its refusal of her claim. In a report today the Local Government Ombudsman says Ealing Council’s failure to monitor what was happening suggests a level of carelessness beyond its original error.
The Ombudsman, Tony Redmond, found the council had failed to take action for 10 months, and that an administrative error led to a further four-month wait. 

The public sector is being urged to lead the way in energy efficiency with the launch of a consultation document asking respondents to choose which measures linked to energy efficiency procurement should be implemented across the country. The Government will decide which of the measures contained in the EU Energy Services Directive will be introduced next spring. 

By Craig Hart, Chris Shane, Karen Spencer and Angela Still.
Getting the right balance between care and control in supporting people with learning difficulties leads to hard decisions. Because academic research can produce misleading findings the authors asked people with theses difficulties to do their own research. The findings highlight the importance of less control, more choices and greater independence to secure higher levels of inclusion.