Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about delay in her son’s Education Health and Care Plan annual review. This is because we cannot investigate delay by her son’s school in arranging the annual review meeting and I have seen nothing to show any fault by the Council caused Miss X or her son significant injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains delayed in carrying out her son Y’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan annual review. The review was due by the end of April 2024 but the annual review meeting did not take place until 21 June 2024. She also complains about the Council’s handling of her complaint.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate complaints about what happens in schools unless it relates to special educational needs, when the schools are acting on behalf of the council to secure educational provision as set out in Section F of the young person’s Education, Health and Care Plan.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. The Council is responsible for the EHC Plan annual review process but it can delegate responsibility for holding the review meeting to the school, as it did here.
7. The Council says the school tried to schedule the meeting before the end of April 2024 but for various reasons this was not possible.
8. We cannot look at the actions of the school in arranging the meeting and any delay they caused. We cannot therefore investigate the period of delay Miss X complains about, from the end of April to 21 June 2024, or recommend any remedy for this. I note in any event that there were few changes to the EHC Plan following the annual review and there is no suggestion Y missed a significant amount of provision due to the delay.
9. Miss X does not claim any delay in the period after the review meeting took place, during which the Council was responsible for reviewing the evidence and deciding whether to maintain, cease or otherwise alter the EHC Plan. We could not therefore say the Council’s actions caused Miss X or Y significant injustice.
10. Miss X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with her complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council’s actions did not cause Miss X or Y significant injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman