West Northamptonshire Council (24 020 017)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delays in producing an Education Health and Care Plan as the Council has agreed to a proportionate way to resolve the complaint.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council avoidably delayed in assessing and producing an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
- Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X complains the Council has failed to issue an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) for her child D. She says she requested an EHC Plan in January 2023. The Council replied in November 2024 to Mrs X’s complaint and said it would issue an EHC Plan, but Mrs X says it still has not been issued.
- If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because the delay in completing the EHC Plan within the Regulation timescales is service failure.
Agreed action
- The Council has previously set out to us its action plan to deal with the problems it has with appointing educational psychologists and EHC Plan delays.
- The Council has agreed to a symbolic payment of:
- £100 per month for the injustice (uncertainty and frustration) caused by the delay outside the statutory timescale to the point of the Council taking the next action.
- This is a suitable remedy for the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delay.
Final decision
- We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman