Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X complaint about the Council’s decision not to carry out an Education Health and Care needs assessment. This is because Mrs X has used her right of appeal to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to follow legislation when it refused to carry out an Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for her son.

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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 Tribunal in this decision statement.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. I cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse an application for an EHC needs assessment for her son because she has appealed to the SEND Tribunal thereby placing the matter out of our jurisdiction.
8. Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision making is not separable from the substantive matter of her appeal, so I cannot investigate this either. The SEND Tribunal is the appropriate body to review the Council’s decision and its decision-making.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mrs 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