Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint the Council refused to hold an early review of an Education Health and Care Plan. The Tribunal is currently considering the Education Health and Care Plan’s adequacy and we cannot consider the same issues.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, says the Council has unreasonably refused an early review of her child’s Education Health and Care Plan ( EHC Plan).

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. SEND is a tribunal that considers special educational needs. (The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (‘SEND’))
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mrs X provided with her complaint. Mrs X had the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. The Council issued B’s first EHC Plan in July 2020. The EHC Plan Code says that a Council has to hold an annual review. This is to be held a year after the date of the first EHC Plan. B’s review is not due until July 2021.
6. Mrs X requested an early review. She said B’s needs had changed and the EHC Plan did not meet B’s needs.
7. The Council said it had set an early review for January 2021. It said it would not hold early reviews generally unless ‘the EHC Plan is no longer meeting the child’s needs or the child’s needs have significantly changed’.
8. Mrs X appealed the EHC Plan wording to the Tribunal, SEND. The final hearing is scheduled for January 2021. The Tribunal is considering whether the EHC Plan is adequate and suitable for B’s needs. This is not separable from the aims of an early review. We cannot investigate the same issues as SEND.
9. Mrs X says the Council has failed to properly reply to her complaint about this. We will not look at how the Council replied to her. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Tribunal is considering the same issues.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman