Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs Q’s complaint about the content of her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because she has appealed to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mrs Q, complained about the content of her son’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, written by Derbyshire County Council. She said it was not up-to-date and contained inaccuracies.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. SENDIST is a tribunal that considers special educational needs. (The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (‘SENDIST’))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information Mrs Q provided. I discussed the complaint with Mrs Q.

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What I found

6. The Council issued a final EHC plan for Mrs Q’s son. She was not happy with the content of the EHC Plan. She said it was not up-to-date and contained inaccuracies.
7. Mrs Q has appealed to SENDIST about her son’s EHC Plan. Because of this, we cannot investigate Mrs Q’s complaint about the matter.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mrs Q’s complaint because she has appealed to SENDIST.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman