Summary: We upheld Mrs X’s complaint about delays in the Education, Health and Care process regarding her child, Y, and about the Council’s poor communication. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by apologising and paying Mrs X a total symbolic payment of £900 to acknowledge the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council:
• delayed completing her child, Y’s, Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan following a Tribunal order;
• delayed in addressing her complaints; and
• failed to communicate with her effectively.
2. Mrs X says the matter caused her frustration, distress, and uncertainty.
3. Mrs X wanted the Council to implement service improvements and pay a financial remedy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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).
5. 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.
6. 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

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. If we investigated this complaint, we would likely find fault because:
• In its complaint response, the Council upheld Mrs X’s complaint for failing to complete the EHC process in line with statutory timescales. The Council initially refused to complete an EHC needs assessment of Y. Mrs X appealed the decision to the SEND Tribunal. The SEND Tribunal made an order in May 2023 instructing the Council to complete an EHC needs assessment of Y. The Council eventually decided to make an EHC Plan for Y.
• Therefore, the Council should have finished the process within 14 weeks of the SEND Tribunal’s order, by mid-August 2023. It did not do so until mid-March 2024. This is a delay of seven months.
• In its complaint response, the Council also upheld Mrs X’s complaints about delays in the complaints process and for its poor communication. The Council sent a stage one response eight months after Mrs X’s original complaint.
10. During a recent investigation by us about similar matters, the Council provided evidence of action plans it has made to improve its compliance with EHC needs assessment timescales and to make improvements in its complaint handling. As a result, further investigation is unlikely to result in additional recommendations because the Council is already acting to resolve the issues.
11. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused to Mrs X by the delays.

Agreed action

12. Within one month of the final decision the Council agreed to:
• write to Mrs X and apologise for the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delay in the EHC process, by the Council’s poor communication, and by the delays in the complaints process;
• pay Mrs X a symbolic payment of £700 to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the seven-month delay in completing her child’s EHC Plan; and
• pay Mrs X a symbolic payment of £200 to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council’s poor communication and the delays in the complaints process.

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Final decision

13. We upheld this complaint because the Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X. It is also acting to improve its service for others.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman