Summary: Mrs X complained about the changes the Council made to move its short breaks booking scheme online as there were no activities available for young adults over 18 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, like her son. This meant she could not use her allocated vouchers and had to privately fund activities for her son. We found the Council at fault. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to apologise, reimburse Mrs X for activities privately paid for, and make a symbolic payment to recognise her injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s online short breaks booking service as it has failed to provide offerings for young adults with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan aged 19-25 years old, like her son. She complains about the lack of clarity and assistance with relevant information about, and booking, activities. As a result, she cannot use her voucher and is having to privately fund activities for him. This has also caused the family frustration and inconvenience.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended).
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
5. 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

6. I discussed the complaint with Mrs X and considered her views.
7. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its written responses and information it provided.
8. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and administrative background

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plans)

9. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child or young person’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.

SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 Years

10. Local authorities must provide a range of short breaks for disabled children, young people and their families, and prepare a short breaks duty statement giving details of the local range of services and how they can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria (The Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011). Local authorities must publish a short breaks statement on their website and review it on a regular basis, taking account of the needs of local parents and carers. The statement will therefore form a core part of the Local Offer.

Background

11. The Council operates a short break vouchers scheme for families with children and young people with a disability and/or those with additional needs aged up to 25 who have an EHC Plan.
12. Prior to the events of this complaint, it ran this through a paper voucher scheme. After applying, Mrs X would receive vouchers through post along with a leaflet of providers. She could book activities for her son direct with providers and pay using these vouchers. She said it arranged this by March ready for use from April onwards. Mrs X’s son is over 18 and under 25. He is eligible for the full voucher amount of £120.
13. In mid-June 2024, the Council contacted parents of children and young people with an EHC Plan. It reminded them of upcoming changes to its short breaks offer, including a new online voucher scheme. It would share more information soon.
14. At the start of July 2024, the Council wrote again with an update. It announced its summer short break offers available to book. It also said it was moving to a new online scheme to replace the paper vouchers. It would go live in a few weeks, and it would send more information soon.

What happened – summary of key relevant events

15. In early July 2024, Mrs X made a formal complaint with her disappointment with how the Council now ran its short breaks scheme. It sent information late about Easter activities and the summer activities were not suitable for her son. She had many unanswered questions due to unclear information given.
16. In mid-July 2024, the Council wrote to parents clarifying what was now available and apologised for any misunderstandings. It had funded some free activities for the summer. The change from paper vouchers to the online booking system was separate and would go live soon.
17. In late July 2024, the Council’s online booking system went live and activities could be booked from the start of August 2024.
18. In early August 2024, Mrs X contacted the Council with her concerns about the lack of information and the range of suitable activities on offer.
19. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint at Stage One. It apologised for the late Easter scheme information. It agreed there were issues with the new system, but it was in regular contact with the booking system provider to get these addressed. Mrs X escalated her complaint. Her main concern was there were no activities for young people aged over 18 to 25 with an EHC plan, so her son could not access activities. She had also spoken to providers directly who did not have information to help assist about the online booking system.
20. In mid-September 2024, the Council responded at Stage Two. The Council had contacted previous providers Mrs X’s son had used and hoped they would sign up to the system. It asked her to put forward other providers so it could reach out to them about the booking system. It apologised if Mrs X thought there was nothing for her son could access and hoped more local providers would come on board.
21. Mrs X then complained to us.

The Council’s response to my enquiries on this complaint

22. The Council said it made the decision to move to an online booking system and stop its paper voucher scheme for a number of reasons. This included concerns it was outdated, it was an inefficient use of resources, and the Council could have better oversight into voucher use when monitored digitally. It also considered feedback from families and providers.
23. It said there would be no other way to use the vouchers as some providers had not signed up again by their choice. To add greater offers to short break activities, the Council funded additional sessions free of charge at Easter and summer, where parents did not need to use their vouchers.
24. In April 2024, the Council said it emailed providers to explain its transition between paper vouchers to an online booking system and advising it would be live in summer.
25. At the start of July 2024, the Council said it emailed providers to say its new online booking provider would contact them directly to set them up on the new system.
26. In response to my enquiries, the Council said, on reflection, it recognised it could have done more work with providers to onboard their services and ensure they understood the new online booking system. It also recognised it could have followed up more robustly with providers to confirm their commitment to utilising an online model and engage with them to ensure their successful take up on the service.
27. Mrs X said to me all activities on the booking system were for under 18s, so not suitable for her son. I asked for the Council’s comments to this. It listed providers which ran activities for up to and including 18 year olds. It had originally reached out to providers to confirm service provision during the start of the new service. Some initially declined, but it had now improved its service offering to include up to 25 year olds. The Council did not evidence specific providers. The Council said it had approached a number of providers in February and March 2025 about signing on.
28. It acknowledged Mrs X went to time and effort to gain greater understanding about the short break activities available and offered her £50 in recognition of this.
29. The Council said it was continuously approaching more and expanding its range of service providers for families to access. It was having regular meetings to try and improve the service and communications with families. It was also developing another part of the offer, and it was in talks with interested parties to ensure it made open and transparent decisions in partnership.

Analysis

30. The Council’s decision to move to an online booking system is not fault in itself. It considered feedback and explained why it was of the view it would have positive overall benefits. This is an operational decision it is entitled to make. However, there have been shortcomings (which the Council recognises) with the way it implemented the scheme, including its communications and its initial engagements with providers. This has had an impact on the activities available, in this case, not available specifically for Mrs X’s son because of his age.
31. I recognise previous providers of activities may not choose to sign up to the online booking system which is outside of the Council’s control. However, as children and young people up to 25 with an EHC Plan are eligible for its short breaks scheme vouchers, I would expect the Council to satisfy itself it had a suitable number of providers with activities to meet these age ranges when the system went live. This is fault in the form of service failure (see Paragraph 3). This is combined with the Council’s position there was no other way to spend the vouchers, so with no alternatives, it could be very limiting.
32. The Council did not provide evidence of activities available which were suitable for the age range of above 18. This would be a specific barrier Mrs X would not be able to overcome for her son. As a result, she has not been able to spend her vouchers (which she is entitled to) on the online booking system, instead privately funding them for her son. This is personal injustice.
33. The Council said it reached out to a number of providers with activities for this age range, but I note this has taken some time and appears mainly done in the last few months. I also recognise the Council made efforts with some gaps to offer additional funded sessions over some holidays. But in my view, this is separate to the spirit and intention of the vouchers to promote flexibility and choice for parents, which it did not meet for Mrs X.
34. The Council offered £50 as a remedy to Mrs X. While positive, I do not consider this goes far enough to recognise her injustice, including frustration and inconvenience.
35. I have not made specific service improvements as I recognise this is an ongoing exercise which the Council says it is undertaking to develop and provide better range to its online booking system. It has shown a willingness and commitment to take steps and take proactive action, along with communicating with relevant interested parties and families. I consider this appropriate, and a formal recommendation is not necessary for now.

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Agreed Action

36. To remedy the personal injustice set out above, the Council has agreed to carry out the following actions within one month of the final decision:
• Apologise to Mrs X (in line with our guidance on making an effective apology) and pay Mrs X a symbolic payment of £100 to recognise her injustice with time and trouble and also her frustration and inconvenience; and
• It should offer for Mrs X to provide receipts or invoices of payments she has made to privately fund short break activities for her son. The Council should reimburse Mrs X for these, up to £120, which is her voucher entitlement. This would cover up to April 2025.
37. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

38. I found fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice, and my investigation is complete.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman