Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about The Council not naming the right provision for Mrs X’s child on an Education Health and Care Plan. Mrs X has used her right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and we cannot act in an auxiliary role by recommending further remedy or the reimbursement of legal costs.

The complaint

1. Mrs X said the Council failed to listen to her and did not name a specialist residential college on the Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan at the time of phase transfer. She wanted the Council to apologise to her child and to reimburse her legal costs.

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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.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council first issued a final EHC Plan for Mrs X’s child in February 2024. Although the Council later issued a further final Plan, her right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal dates from February 2024. The Tribunal upheld Mrs X’s appeal in October 2024 and her child started at the specialist college Mrs X wanted in December 2024.
8. Mrs X’s use of her right of appeal means we cannot consider matters subject to the appeal, or the time taken in holding the appeal after the right became available. And we cannot act in an auxiliary matter to the Tribunal by making further recommendations about legal costs or an apology.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal to a Tribunal, and we cannot act in an auxiliary role by making recommendations about further remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman