Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about information allegedly omitted by the Council when consulting with possible schools in drawing up an Education Health and Care Plan for Mr X’s child. This matter is closely connected to the decision reached by the Council about the most suitable provision, in respect of which Mr X had a right of appeal to the Special Educatuional Needs and Disability Tribunal it would have been reasonable to use.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council left out three expert reports an earlier Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND) Tribunal had ruled admissible when consulting with schools before issuing a final Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan for his child. He said the Council took too long to respond to his complaint about 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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. 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.
5. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. The Council issuing a final EHC Plan for Mr X’s child gave rise to a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It is not clear if Mr X used this right, but it would have been reasonable to do so if he took the view the content of the EHC Plan did not meet his child’s SEN. How the Council consulted with schools is closely linked to the decision it made, which was subject to the right of appeal.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because this matter is closely linked to the decision of the Council about the provision required to meet his child’s SEN. He had a right of appeal against the decision it would have been reasonable to use.
10. We will not investigate delays in the Council’s complaint handling as we are not investigating the substantive complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman