Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed carrying out an Education Health and Care needs assessment. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by offering to make a payment to the complainant to remedy the injustice this caused.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council has delayed completing an Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for her child.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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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. If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely that we would find fault. This is because the Council has delayed completing an EHC needs assessment by approximately four months, which has caused Ms X distress in the form of frustration.
7. The Council has said that the delays are caused by a national shortage of educational psychologists. We have previously found that the Council has made service improvements to respond to the increased demand for EHC needs assessments and to manage the shortage of Educational Psychologists. I am satisfied with these service improvements and so have therefore not recommended anything further here. However, I did recommend the Council provides a remedy for the injustice caused to Ms X by the delays.
8. To its credit, the Council agreed to my recommendation. Therefore, within one month of the date of this final decision, it will write to Mrs X to apologise for the delay and offer to make a payment to her of £400 to remedy the distress this has caused her.
9. The Council has also agreed that once its assessment is complete, it will offer to make another payment to Ms X of £100 for each further month that its assessment is delayed.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing an appropriate remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman