Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the contents of her child’s Education Health and Care plan. This is because Miss X has used her right of appeal to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council has failed to name an appropriate school or appropriate Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision in her child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.

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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 Miss X’s complaint about the contents of her child’s EHC plan. This is because she has used her right of appeal about this to the SEND Tribunal, placing the matter outside of our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman