Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council managed a child’s education and Special Educational Needs provision. This is because the complaint is made late, and I see no good reason to exercise discretion and investigate it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains about how the Council managed his child’s education and Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision. Mr X says the Council’s actions meant that his son went without a suitable full-time education for four years.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, 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. Mr X complained to the Council via his advocate in 2020. The Council responded and advised Mr X how he could escalate his complaint to stage two.
7. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late, and I see no good reason why he could not have raised it sooner. It is reasonable to have expected Mr X to escalate his complaint with the Council when it responded in 2020, if he had he would then have been advised how to escalate his complaint to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is made late, and I see no reason why he could not have complained sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman