Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Education Health and Care Plan process. This is because the Council has agreed appropriate remedies.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complained about delay in the Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) process for her son (Y). Mrs X said the Council had failed to meet the relevant deadlines in the SEN Code of Practice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’  and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1), as amended)
3. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), 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. The Council has accepted delay in considering Mrs X’s request that it issue her son with an EHC Plan. The 16-week deadline for the Council to decide whether to issue a plan was 07 August 2023. A lack of Educational Psychologists (EPs) has contributed to the delay. The failure to issue a decision amounts to service failure.
7. We are satisfied the Council has a plan to address this issue. In July 2023, the Council's Cabinet approved an action plan to deal with the issues it is facing because of a lack of capacity in its EP and Special Educational Needs teams. This plan includes increased funding and recruitment.
8. In cases like this we consider a payment of £100 to be a suitable remedy for each four weeks of delay. The Council has already agreed to pay Mrs X £500 for the frustration and uncertainty caused. This is a suitable remedy for 20 weeks of delay and therefore covers the period 07 August to 25 December 2023. The Council has also agreed to:
• Pay Mrs X £100 per four weeks of further delay, to be calculated from 25 December 2023, until the date a decision is made whether to issue an EHC Plan. Again, this is to recognise the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delay.  The payment should be made within four weeks of the Council deciding whether to issue an EHC Plan. If the Council makes a decision before 25 December 2023, then this remedy will not be needed.
9. The Council has agreed suitable remedies and is taking to steps to address the issue at the heart of this complaint. We will not therefore investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Council has offered suitable remedies for the identified injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman