Summary: Ms D complained the Council has failed to put provision in her daughter’s Education, Health and Education Plan in place. We found the Council is at fault. The Council has apologised and made a symbolic payment in recognition of the injustice caused. We do not consider any further remedy is due.

The complaint

1. Ms D complains the Council has failed to provide the educational provision in her daughter, (A)’s Education, Health and Care Plan since April 2024. Ms D says A has missed education as a result. Ms D is seeking an agreement the Council will fund her choice of tutors.

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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. 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)
4. 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

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms D and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Ms D and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft decision. I have considered all comments before making a final decision.

What I found

What happened

7. Ms D’s daughter, A, is a young person with special educational needs. Following a Tribunal hearing, the Council issued an EHC plan for D in late May 2024. The plan states the Council will put provision in place for D to access from her home.
8. The plan says the Council will put in place up to 20 hours of tuition, one hour of counselling, one horse riding lesson and one guitar lesson each week. Tuition was provided for some of the time, the rest of the provision was not provided for the rest of the academic year of 2023/2024.
9. Ms D complained to the Council. It contacted the school and the tutors to try to resolve the issue, as it said it had provided the school with funding to put the provision in place.
10. Ms D asked the Council to provide a personal budget for D’s provision and the Council agreed to this.
11. The Council provided a breakdown of the budget and how it was to be allocated, along with a list of its approved providers.
12. Ms D disagreed with the providers the Council had suggested and said D would benefit from her own choice of providers.
13. The Council asked Ms D to provide details of her chosen providers but ultimately decided it would not approve them. The Council said the charges for these providers were not within the personal budget, and it was not satisfied with DBS check requirements.
14. The Council offered to provide the provision through its own providers, but this was refused by Ms D.
15. As Ms D and the Council did not agree on providers, A has not received the provision in her EHC plan from September 2024.

Analysis and findings

16. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The Council has a duty to ensure the educational provision in this plan is made available.
17. The Council has accepted A’s provision was not in place following the May 2024 plan until the end of the term. A missed half a term of education.
18. The Council apologised and at stage two of its complaints process, offered £500 as a recognition payment. It also agreed to the personal budget Ms D had requested, in order to avoid the problems continuing.
19. A Personal Budget is the amount of money the council has identified it needs to pay to secure the provision in a child or young person’s EHC Plan. One way that councils can deliver a Personal Budget is through direct payments. These are cash payments made to the child’s parent or the young person so they can commission the provision in the EHC Plan themselves.
20. The final allocation of a Personal Budget must be sufficient to secure the agreed provision specified in the EHC Plan and must be set out as part of that provision.
21. In August 2024, the Council set out a personal budget for A. This included a breakdown which showed the Council’s offer would cover all of the provision in A’s plan.
22. I understand Ms D has her reasons for not agreeing to the Council’s suggested providers. However, the Council has a duty to spend public money responsibly. It is entitled to make decisions on this basis.
23. The Council has considered Ms D’s preferred providers and given its reasons for not agreeing to them. This is a decision it is entitled to make.
24. The Council has met its duty to ensure the provision is available to A and is therefore not at fault although the providers were not agreed.
25. The Council has made it clear it is open to working with Ms D to put the provision in place if she so wishes.
26. The Council has already apologised and made a payment of £500 for the missed provision at the end of the summer 2024 term.
27. I am satisfied the Council’s response is in line with our remedies guidance, so do not consider any further remedy is required here.

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Decision

28. I found fault causing injustice. No further action is needed.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman