Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the contents of an Education Health and Care Plan and the education provision in place for Miss X’s child. This is because she has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal..

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about how the Council carried out an Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for her daughter, Z. Miss X says the Council issued a final EHC Plan without considering relevant information resulting in an inadequate plan, the Council naming a school that could not meet Z’s needs and about its failure to provide suitable alternative education provision. Miss X also complains that Section F provision is not in place and about a social care matter.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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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. I cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the contents of the plan including what information was considered before writing the plan or the school named in Section I. This is because Miss X has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal placing these matters outside of our jurisdiction. The education provision in place since the final EHC Plan was issued is also out of our jurisdiction as it is not separable from the appeal itself which will consider what education provision should be in place for Z.
9. I will not investigate other issues raised by Miss X, including how the Council is meeting Z’s Section F provision and the issues raided in Miss X’s social care complaint. This is because these maters have yet to be considered under the Council’s complaints procedure. Once they have Miss X can raise new complaints with the Ombudsman and ask us to consider these matters further.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman