Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to update the complainant’s son’s Education and Care plan because the complaint is late and there are no grounds for us to consider it now. We will not investigate her complaint that the Council has not reimbursed her for costs she has incurred because we would not add anything to the response the Council has already made on this matter.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains that the Council was at fault in failing to update her son’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, thereby denying her the right to appeal, and in failing to reimburse costs she incurred in engaging a tutor for him.

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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 impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide we would not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X’s son has special educational needs and an EHC plan. She complains that the Council failed to amend the EHC plan between 2021 and 2023, thereby denying her the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). As a result, the amended EHC plan issued in November 2023 was based on information which was out of date. She has therefore been compelled to appeal against its provisions.
7. Miss X engaged a tutor for her son. She says this expense was incurred in order to deliver appropriate education and should therefore be reimbursed. She complains that the Council has failed to do so.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the failure to amend the EHC plan between 2021 and 2023 because it is late. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us. This applies to matters before the amended EHC plan was issued in October 2023, and there are no grounds for us to consider them now.
9. Turning to the tutoring costs, the Council’s final complaint response states that it agrees to reimburse them when Mrs X provides invoices. In addition, it has offered a symbolic payment of £300 in recognition of the previous failure to agree to do so. This provides a reasonable basis on which to conclude this aspect of the complaint and the Ombudsman would not seek to achieve anything further. Our intervention is not therefore warranted.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. Part of the complaint is late and there are no grounds to investigate it now, and we would not seek to add anything to the response the Council has already made.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman