Summary: The Council was at fault in failing to obtain an occupational therapy assessment during the education health and care needs assessment of the complaint’s son. The Council has agreed to reimburse the complaint for the cost of the assessment she obtained privately.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council was at fault in the course of an education care and health needs assessment for her son.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss B’s son has special educational needs. Her complaint relates to the process of assessing his needs. She says the Council failed to communicate properly during the process and based its findings on assumptions, rather than evidence. As a result, the Council did not initially properly identify her son’s needs. Miss B says the Council failed to carry out an occupational therapy assessment and she was forced to obtain one privately.
7. Although she says the Council addressed some of the errors in the assessment process, Miss B believes it should accept it was at fault and should reimburse the cost she incurred in commissioning the private occupational therapy report.
8. In response to Miss B’s complaint the Council accepted fault in the way it communicated, and apologised. It did not accept that it had been at fault in declining to carry out an occupational therapy assessment as its officers did not believe one was warranted.
9. It was Miss B’s choice to obtain a private assessment and it was open to her to allow the Education Health and Care Plan to be produced without occupational therapy input. But the evidence shows the findings of the assessment were material to the final Education Health and Care Plan, and resulted in provision which would probably not otherwise have been made.
10. That being the case, investigation by the Ombudsman is likely to find that Miss B acted reasonably in obtaining the assessment privately in order to secure appropriate provision for her son, that the Council should have commissioned an assessment itself, and the failure to do so is fault.

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Agreed action

11. The Council has agreed that, within one month of the date of my final decision, it will reimburse Miss B for the £550 cost she incurred in obtaining the occupational therapy assessment.

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Final decision

12. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman