Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed completing the review of an Education Health and Care Plan. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a remedy for the injustice this caused. It is reasonable for the complainant to use their right of appeal to a tribunal about other matters.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about how the Council reviewed her daughter Ms Z’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Mrs X says the Council delayed completing its review and that the EHC Plan does not meet Ms Z’s needs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (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.
5. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about he contents of Ms Z’s EHC Plan. This is because this carries a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal that it is reasonable for Mrs X to use. Only the SEND Tribunal can direct the Council to make the changes to the EHC Plan that Mrs X seeks.
9. However, if we were to investigate Mrs X’s complaint about delay, it is likely that we would find fault. This is because the Council did delay completing the annual review and issuing an amended final EHC Plan for Ms Z, causing distress in the form of frustration and uncertainty.
10. I therefore asked the Council to apologise to Miss Z within one month and to make a payment to her of £200 to remedy the distress that the delay has caused. To its credit, the Council agreed.

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Final decision

11. We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed completing the review of an Education Health and Care Plan. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a remedy for the injustice this caused. It is reasonable for the complainant to use their right of appeal to a tribunal about other matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman