Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council refused the complainants request for further education for her son who has special educational needs. This is because the decision carried a right of appeal to a tribunal, which was reasonable for the complainant to have used. Furthermore, 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 Miss X, complains that in 2018 the Council declined her request for her son to attend a further education placement. Miss X says her son should have received a further two years of education and she should receive compensation for the Council’s decision not to arrange this.

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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)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. 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)
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Miss X’s son has cerebral palsy and previously had an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan. In 2018, his placement at a college was coming to an end so Miss X asked the Council to consider a further placement at another setting. The Council declined Miss X’s request and wrote to her to inform her that it was ceasing her son’s EHC plan.
9. I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the Council’s decision to refuse Miss X’s request and cease her son’s EHC plan carried a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. I see no reason why she could not have exercised this right of appeal at the time.
10. Even if there were good reasons for Miss X not to have appealed to the SEND Tribunal, we would not investigate this complaint now. This is because the Council’s decision was made some five years ago. I see no good reason why Miss X could not have complained sooner.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to have expected her to use her right of appeal to a tribunal and because it is made late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman