Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about a remedy offered for missed education provision. We are unlikely to achieve significantly more.

The complaint

1. Ms X says the Council has not offered enough compensation for her child missing 14 months of education.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome; or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Ms X which includes the Council’s reply to her.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Ms X’s child, B was excluded from school in the Autumn of 2023. The Council accepts B was out of school from mid December. The Council says it issued a new Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) in February 2024 before B’s transition to a different phase of education in September 2024. Ms X appealed the EHC Plan in March 2024 and the Tribunal ended in June 2024.
7. Ms X complained to the Council about the lack of education provided to B for 14 months. The Council in reply offered £14105.50. Ms X says this is not enough.
8. We cannot investigate whether the EHC Plan issued in February 2024 was suitable for B’s needs because Ms X appealed to the Tribunal. We also may not be able to look at the education provided during the appeal if the education set out in the appealed EHC Plan was available to use.
9. Our Guidance on Remedies LGO Intranet | Guidance on remedies, sets out how we usually calculate a remedy. The Council’s offer is significantly above the highest point of our range for missed provision. We are unlikely to achieve more.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we are unlikely to achieve a remedy significantly more than has been offered.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman