Somerset County Council (22 014 047)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health, and Care plan. She says the Council failed to issue her child’s final EHC plan within the required timescales following the annual review. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X by the fault accepted.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan. She says the Council removed her child from their school roll without her consent and named an inappropriate placement in the EHC plan. She also complains the Council failed to adhere to the statutory timescales as it has not issued the final EHC plan, despite the annual review being held in March/April 2022.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X complaint about the Council naming an inappropriate placement in her child’s EHC plan is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is because the Council issued the final EHC plan naming the new school placement in July 2021 and advised her of her right of appeal.
- Mrs X confirmed she was aware of her right to appeal but said she decided not to pursue the appeal. We are satisfied it was reasonable for Mrs X to use her right of appeal if she disagreed with the placement named in her child’s EHC plan.
- If we investigated Mrs X complaint about the Council failing to adhere to statutory timescales, it is likely we would find the Council at fault. This is because the Council has accepted there have been delays in issuing the final EHC plan. Based on the information available, the delay so far is around six months. The delay in issuing the final EHC plan has prevented Mrs X from accessing her right of appeal.
- We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by issuing the final EHC plan. The Council should advise Mrs X of her right of appeal when it issues the final EHC plan. The Council should also pay Mrs X £100 to recognise the frustration caused by the delay.
Agreed action
- To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within two weeks of the date of the final decision statement.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman