Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed carrying out an Education Health and Care needs assessment for a child. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by apologising and offering to make a suitable payment to the complainant to remedy the injustice this caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of her son Mr Z, that the Council has delayed completed Mr Z’s Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment.

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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 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)
3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. If we were to investigate this complaint it is likely that we would find fault. This is because the Council has delayed completing its EHC needs assessment by around 10 months to date. It says this is due to the national shortage of Educational Psychologists.
7. We have recently upheld other complaints about delays with the Council completing EHC needs assessments due to the national shortage of Educational Psychologists and we are satisfied that the Council is taking steps to resolve this issue, and so have therefore not recommended anything further recommendations in regard to this point. 
8. However, the delays have caused Mr Z distress in the form of frustration and uncertainty.
9. I therefore recommended that the Council writes to Mr Z within one month to apologise for the delay and to offer him a payment of £1000 to remedy the distress this has caused to date. I also recommended that the Council offers to make a further payment to Mr Z once it makes an appealable decision, either not to issue an EHC Plan or when an EHC Plan is issued. This payment should be calculated at £100 per month from the date of this decision until the date of the appealable decision. To its credit, the Council agreed to my recommendations.

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Final decision

10. We have upheld Mr X’s complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the matter by providing a suitable remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman