Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays in the Education, Health and Care plan process. This is because the Council has agreed to an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused by the delay.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about delay in the Education, Health and Care (EHC Plan) process. Mrs X says the Council failed to meet the relevant timescales 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)
4. 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

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

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My assessment

7. Mrs X asked the Council to assess her daughter for an EHC Plan on 01 November 2023. The SEN Code of Practice contains the timescales councils must follow when dealing with such requests. If a Council decides not to issue an EHC Plan, it must do so by week 16 of the process – in this case 21 February 2024. If a Council decides to issue an EHC Plan, it must do so by week 20 of the process – in this case 20 March 2024.
8. The Council eventually decided not to issue an EHC Plan on 18 July 2024; five months after the February deadline.
9. The Council has accepted it has taken longer than it should to complete the process due to a shortage of Educational Psychologists. This is service failure. This has caused Mrs X frustration and distress.
10. The Council has previously assured the Ombudsman of the actions it is taking to address delays in the EHC Plan process. We are therefore satisfied the Council has a plan to address this issue.
11. In cases like this we consider a payment of £100 to be a suitable remedy for each month of delay. We therefore asked the Council to remedy the injustice caused by making a payment to Mrs X to resolve the complaint early. The Council has agreed to pay £500 to remedy Mrs X’s complaint. This is in recognition of the frustration and distress caused.
12. The Council should make the payment within four weeks of this decision.
13. The Council has agreed a suitable remedy 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

14. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the Council has offered a suitable remedy for the identified injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman