Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s actions relating to an Education, Health, and Care Plan for his child. Parts of the complaint are late and there are no good reasons why it could not have been made sooner. Of the parts that are not late, we are satisfied the Council has taken action to prevent a reoccurrence of the fault and offered a suitable remedy for Mr X’s injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X said the Council had repeatedly failed to carry out its statutory duties in relation to his child (Y’s), Education, Health, and Care (EHC) Plan between 2022 and 2024. He said this caused his family significant stress and unnecessary expense.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. 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 an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. In November 2024, Mr X complained to the Council about its actions relating to Y’s 2022 and January 2023 EHC annual reviews. We will not consider complaints about these matters, because they are now late and there are no good reasons why they could not have been made to us sooner.
7. Mr X was also dissatisfied the Council did not give him a decision about Y’s EHC, after it completed an annual review in late 2023, until March 2024, which was a delay by around two months.
8. The Council apologised for this fault and said it had taken steps to improve its service in this area. It also offered Mr X £500 to acknowledge his injustice.
9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about delays in this EHC review. This is because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken and offered. It apologised to Mr X, has taken steps to improve its service, and offered a suitable financial remedy. It is now open to Mr X to consider whether he now accepts that offer.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because parts of it are late. Of the parts remaining, we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken and there are no wider public interest issues to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman