Overview:

Key to names used

• Mrs X The complainant
• Y Her son

Summary

Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure her son, Y, received the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) set out in his Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP). She also complained the Council has delayed the EHCP process and that communications were poor.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council, Cabinet or other appropriately delegated committee of elected members and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

In addition to the requirement set out above, to remedy the injustice caused the Council should:

• apologise to Mrs X and Y for failing to issue a decision following the annual review in June 2021, not issuing the EHCP in the statutory timescales, not ensuring the SALT provision specified in the plan was provided, not responding to the complaint and its poor communication;

• pay Mrs X £300 to acknowledge the time and trouble she has spent pursuing this complaint and for the Council’s failure to formally respond to it;

• pay £200 to acknowledge the frustration and distress caused due to the Council’s faults;

• pay £1,300 for not providing SALT sessions over 13 months which would have been in place had the EHCP been issued within an appropriate timescale. This money should be used for Y’s benefit;

• pay £100 a month, for every month the SALT was not set up from January 2023 until the SALT provision is in place. This money should be used for Y’s benefit; and

• evidence SALT provision has started and is being delivered in line with the requirements of the EHCP.

In addition, the Council should write to each of the 170 people it has identified to apologise for its delay responding to their stage one and two complaints. The apology should:

• explain they have been identified following an investigation by us;

• set out the steps the Council has already taken to reduce its stage one and two complaint backlog. It should also explain that, in line with our recommendation, the Council will consider what further steps it should take to prevent a future backlog; and

• include that, once they receive the stage two response, they have the right to complain to us if they remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response to the substantive matter they complained about. It should say that if we choose to investigate the main issue they complain about, we can also consider the Council’s complaint handling.

To improve services, the Council should within three months of the date of this report:

• review its EHCP annual review procedure to ensure it follows statutory timescales set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) regulations. Ensure decisions about maintaining, amending or discontinuing plans are communicated clearly and promptly to the young person and their family to enable appeal rights to be engaged;

• develop an action plan to show how it intends to address ongoing delays with EHCP annual reviews and complaints about them. This report should be taken to the relevant committee for democratic scrutiny; and

• update us on the backlog for stage one and two responses and its timeliness.

The Council has accepted these recommendations.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 16 February 2024

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