Summary: We cannot investigate part of Miss X’s complaint because it is too closely linked to matters which were appealed to a tribunal. We will not investigate part of the complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigation. We will not investigate part because it is late. We will not investigate the remainder because we could not add to a previous investigation by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to:
1. provide alternative school provision to her child, Y, between 2022 and June 2025 when Y was unable to attend school;
2. conduct an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, decided not to assess Y in April 2024, and delayed the process;
3. deliver the content of Y’s EHC plan or provide alternative school provision from June 2025 to summer 2026; and
4. investigate her concerns that a Council officer was rude to her during a phone call.
2. Miss X said these issues meant Y missed months of education, and the phone call caused her emotional distress.
3. Miss X wanted the Council to provide alternative school provision for Y and take disciplinary action against the Council officer.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.
6. 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)
7. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
8. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

9. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
10. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Matters older than 12 months

11. Miss X complained to the Ombudsman in February 2026. The events Miss X complained about happened more than 12 months before this date, and Miss X was aware of the issues at the time. Therefore, part of this complaint is late.
12. Miss X first complained to the Council in September 2025. The Council’s complaint response was delayed, and the Council did not respond until five months later. This was part of the reason Miss X’s complaint was late to the Ombudsman. Therefore, I have exercised discretion to consider matters 12 months before Miss X complained to the Council in September 2025.
13. However, I have seen no good reasons Miss X could not have complained about matters that occurred before September 2024 sooner. Consequently, we will only investigate matters after this date.

Alternative educational provision between September 2024 and June 2025

14. Miss X said Y was struggling to engage with their mainstream primary school. During this time, the Council consulted with the school as part of the EHC Process. In response the school said it could meet Y’s needs, so the Council named the school in the EHC Plan.
15. The Council had also previously considered Y’s education at the school as part of the decision not to conduct an EHC needs assessment in April 2024.
16. In its complaint response, the Council explained Y was on roll at the school during this period. It told Miss X the school was responsible for Y’s education at the time.
17. Although Miss X said Y was struggling at their school, based on the information seen there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating this complaint.

Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment

18. Miss X said the process of obtaining an EHC Plan for Y took a long time. However, based on the information seen the reason for the alleged delay was due to a Tribunal appeal. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council regarding the delay to justify investigating this complaint.
19. We cannot investigate the Council’s decision not to conduct an EHC needs assessment. This is because Miss X used her right to appeal to the Tribunal, and the law says we cannot investigate.

Alternative provision from June 2025 to summer 2026 and delivery of the EHC Plan

20. A final EHC Plan was made for Miss X’s child, Y, in June 2025.
21. Miss X appealed the named school in the EHC Plan as she believed it was unsuitable. Miss X later asked the Council to organise alternative provision for Y because she felt the school could not meet Y’s needs. Miss X did not send Y to the school named in the EHC Plan.
22. The courts have established that if someone has appealed to the Tribunal, the law says we cannot investigate any matter which was part of, was connected to, or could have been part of, the appeal to the Tribunal. (R (on application of Milburn) v Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman [2023] EWCA Civ 207)
23. This means that if a child or young person is not attending school, and we decide the reason for non-attendance is linked to, or is a consequence of, a parent or young person’s disagreement about the special educational provision or the educational placement in the EHC Plan, we cannot investigate a lack of special educational provision, or alternative educational provision.
24. We therefore cannot investigate this complaint because the reason Y did not receive the content of their EHC Plan, and any disagreements about alternative provision, are too closely linked to the matter appealed.

Phone call

25. The Council investigated Miss X’s complaint that a Council officer was rude to her during a phone call. The Council explained its officers work in a busy and noisy environment. It explained it found no evidence to indicate malicious intent by the officer and instead attributed any raised voices to the working environment. In its complaint response the Council apologised to Miss X if the circumstances caused her distress.
26. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, so we will not investigate this matter.

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Final decision

27. We cannot investigate part of Miss X’s complaint because it is too closely linked to matters which were appealed to a tribunal. We will not investigate part of the complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigation. We will not investigate part of the complaint because it is late. We will not investigate the remainder of the complaint because we could not add to any previous investigation by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman