Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about an Education Health and Care Plan annual review. It is reasonable to expect her to appeal the outcome. And the faults she alleges are not significant enough or cause a significant enough injustice to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council failed to attend an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) review and the decision notice which followed had errors on it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs X.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X’s child, B, has an EHC Plan. She says the Council failed to attend an annual review held in February 2025. In March 2025 the Council issued a decision notice. It said it would not amend the EHC Plan. The decision notice explained Mrs X could appeal the decision.
7. If Mrs X does not agree with the decision it is reasonable to expect her to appeal to the Tribunal.
8. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council not attending the annual review as the Code does not require it to do so.
9. Mrs X says the decision notice had the wrong officer’s name on it and another officer who it referred to as a telephone contact no longer worked for the Council. These errors do not cause Mrs X a significant enough injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to appeal and there is not significant enough fault or injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman