Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the educational provision made for the complainant’s son. The complaint is late and there are no grounds for us to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council failed to make proper educational provision for her son.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms B says her son has an Education Health and Care Plan. Her complaint relates to the period following her move to the Council’s area in 2017. She says the Council failed to secure a school place for her son, and he was out of school for seven weeks.
6. Miss B also says that, when the Council did provide a school place, it was too far away from her home. She argues that the difficulty of the travel arrangements contributed to her son being taken into the Council’s care in 2018.
7. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us. There is no reason for us to accept the complaint now. Even if we were to do so, we would not investigate matters relating to the suitability of her son’s school, because Miss B had the right to appeal against the placement, or matters relating to the decision to place her son in care, because this matter was considered in court. There are no grounds for us to intervene.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because it is late and there are no grounds to investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman