Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council managed an application for Free Early Education Entitlement. This is because there is insufficient fault in how the Council dealt with the matter.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mrs C, complains about how the Council dealt with her application for Free Early Education Entitlement for her child. Mrs C says her child received 15-hours of entitlement but should have received 30 hours. Mrs C says the Council should backdate the additional hours.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. The complainant now has an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I will consider their comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

6. Children in England aged 2, 3 and 4 may be eligible for free childcare. This is known as the Free Early Education Entitlement. The eligibility criteria are set by the Government. To qualify, the child, its parents and the childcare provider must meet the eligibility criteria.
7. All children in England aged 3 and 4 are eligible for 15 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks a year. This is known as the ‘universal entitlement’.
8. Children aged 3 and 4 with working parents may be eligible for 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks a year. This is known as the ‘extended entitlement’.
9. Eligibility for the extended entitlement is decided by HMRC. If eligible HMRC will issue parents with an eleven-digit code
10. When applying for free childcare, the Council askes parents to complete a declaration form. Parents are required to provide details of how many hours of free childcare they are applying for. If applying for the extended entitlement, they are also asked to provide the code issued by HMRC.
11. In February Mrs C contacted her child’s school and subsequently the Council. She said her child was only in receipt of 15 hours free childcare but should be in receipt of 30.
12. Mrs C said she did not have a code from HMRC and was unaware of the importance of the code. She said she felt that providing her National Insurance number would be sufficient. Mrs C said the Council should backdate her claim.
13. The Council rejected Mrs C’s request. It said the funding had been arranged based on the 15 hours that Mrs C had included on her declaration form and if she had not received a code, she should contact HMRC.
14. I will not investigate Mrs C’s complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council dealt with the matter.
15. I have reviewed the declaration form that Mrs C completed, and it shows that she did not request the extended entitlement or the entitlement code from HMRC. The form clearly states what information is needed to process an application for the extended entitlement. Whilst it may be the case that Mrs C did not receive the code from HMRC or was not aware of the importance it is unlikely any investigation would conclude the Council was at fault for this.

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Final decision

16. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman