Summary: On the evidence currently available, we should not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council decided to end his Education Health and Care Plan. It is reasonable to expect him to appeal to the Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council should not have told him it intended to end his Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. I considered Mr X’s comments on my draft decision.

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My assessment

7. Mr X says the Council told him it had decided to ‘cease to maintain’ his EHC Plan. He says it did not follow the EHC Plan Code when reaching this decision. Mr X in his complaint to us says he understands he may need to appeal to the Tribunal.
8. Mr X has a right of appeal to the Tribunal of a decision to cease to maintain. It is reasonable to expected him to have done so.

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Final decision

9. We should not investigate this complaint. This is because as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman