Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s Education Health and Care Plan failures since June 2020. Mr X has appealed to the Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about the Council’s Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) assessment and processes since June 2020. He says his child has missed education because of the Council’s failures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
5. 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 any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the Mr X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X says his child has an EHC Plan to meet their added educational needs. He says following an annual review in June 2020 his child received no education. He complained to the Council in September 2020. The Council considered his complaint within its Children Services Act statutory complaints’ procedure. That finished in December 2021. Mr X remain unhappy with the Council’s response to his complaint.
9. The Council issued a final EHC Plan in May 2021. Mr X appealed the EHC Plan wording. He says it does not meet his child’s needs.
10. We cannot investigate the same issues the Tribunal is considering. This includes what education support the child should receive. We also cannot investigate matters which are inextricably linked to that Tribunal appeal. This includes the support provided from the date the appeal right started until the appeal’s conclusion.
11. Until the final EHC Plan is known, it is not possible to assess what education provision the family has missed because of any Council faults in the process since June 2020.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we cannot investigate the same issues a Tribunal is, and we are not able to assess the injustice from faults not connected to the Tribunal until it concludes.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman