London Borough of Barnet (21 008 385)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Sep 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council has failed to do what it agreed following a previous complaint to us. There is insufficient evidence of fault or injustice to warrant investigation.
The complaint
- Miss X said the Council failed to provide the remedy it agreed after we found fault in complaint 19 011 750.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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, or
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
- The complainant now has an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have considered her comments before making a final decision.
My assessment
- Part of the remedy the Council agreed to provide to resolve the matters in complaint 19 011 750 was £2400 for the educational benefit of Miss X’s son. She complained the named support worker the Council had agreed to provide to help her son adjust to his new college was leaving and that her son would not attend college without him being present. The Council has told us it had recently written to Miss X confirming that the £2400 is paying for 80 hours of support by the named worker to help her son adjust to his new college. While Miss X wanted the money used otherwise, a difference of opinion is not evidence of fault.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault or injustice to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman