Leeds City Council (24 019 771)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Apr 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a delayed Education Health and Care Plan process. It is unlikely we could achieve a significantly different outcome than the Council offered.
The complaint
- Miss X says the Council has delayed in providing an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) and has failed to provide education meanwhile.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:
- we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome; or
- there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council’s reply to her complaint.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code and Guidance on Remedies.
My assessment
- Miss X requested the Council assess her child, B, for an EHC Plan in November 2023. It did so and published its EHC Plan in December 2024. This is outside the regulation timescales.
- In reply to her complaint, the Council has accepted its delays, apologised and offered £900.
- B is not of compulsory school age. The Council has previously set out to us its action plan to deal with the problems it has with appointing educational psychologists and SEN assessment delays. The £900 offer meets our Guidance on Remedies. Our investigation is unlikely to achieve more.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could achieve a significantly different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman