Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about provision for the complainant’s son’s special educational needs. This is because the complaint is late and there are insufficient grounds to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council has failed to secure the provision set out in her son’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X’s son has special educational needs and an EHC plan. Miss X complains that the Council has failed to secure the provision set out in her son’s EHC Plan for a period of over 18 months. She says this has had a severe impact on his education and welfare and has caused her significant distress.
6. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than a year to complain to us about something a council has done. The evidence Miss X has provided shows that she complained to the Council in May 2023. The events about which she is complaining therefore took place before that date.
7. Miss X has been aware of her right to complain to the Ombudsman since July 2023. There are no grounds for us to consider the matter now. If she wishes to complain about matters in the last year, she should make a new complaint to the Council in the first instance.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is late and there are insufficient grounds to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman