Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (23 007 317)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to review and amend her child’s Education, Health, and Care plan within the required statutory timescales. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council failed to review and amend her child’s EHC plan, and to name the placement he was transferring to, within the required timescales. She complains the Council has not communicated with her regarding the draft EHC plan.
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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future 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
- If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing Mrs X an injustice. This is because the Council has not issued the final EHC plan following the annual review within the statutory timescales.
- The annual review meeting was held in May 2023. This means the Council needed to have sent its notification on how it was going to proceed by June 2023 (four weeks). The Council then needed to have issued the final EHC plan within eight weeks of the notification, so the final EHC plan should have been issued by August 2023
- The Council only issued the draft EHC plan in August 2023. This means the delay is two months and is still ongoing. The Council has not given any indication of when it expects to issue the final EHC plan. I am satisfied this ongoing delay will be causing Mrs X frustration and distress.
- We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by making a financial payment of £200. The Council is then to make a financial payment of £100 for each month until the final EHC plan is issued. The Council can make this payment retrospectively, rather than as an ongoing monthly payment.
- The symbolic payment is to recognise the frustration and uncertainty caused to the Mrs X and her child by the delay. It is not to remedy any loss of special education support to the child as they do not yet have a final EHC plan.
Agreed action
- To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the £200 payment within four weeks of the final decision. Once the Council has issued the final EHC plan, if any further payments were required, the Council will provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the payments made.
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.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman