Summary: Miss X complained the Council has not provided any Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan provision for her son, Mr Y, since late 2023 and not reviewed the plan in this time. She also complained about poor communication and said the Council did not respond to her complaint. Miss X said this distressed her and Mr Y missed education and EHC Plan provision. The Council was at fault It did not ensure Mr Y received the provision in his EHC Plan. The Council did not communicate effectively and complaint handling was poor. This frustrated and distressed Miss X and Mr Y missed EHC Plan provision. The Council will apologise, make a financial payment and provide guidance to its staff.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council has not provided any Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan provision for her son, Mr Y, since late 2023 and not reviewed the plan in this time. She also complained about poor communication and said the Council did not respond to her complaint. Miss X said this distressed her and Mr Y missed education and EHC Plan provision.

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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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read Miss X’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
6. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft decision. Their comments were considered before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

8. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the Tribunal or the council can do this. 
9. The council has a duty to make sure the child or young person receives the special educational provision set out in section F of an EHC Plan (Section 42 Children and Families Act). The Courts have said the duty to arrange this provision is owed personally to the child and is non-delegable. This means if the council asks another organisation to make the provision and that organisation fails to do so, the council remains liable (R v London Borough of Harrow ex parte M [1997] ELR 62), (R v North Tyneside Borough Council [2010] EWCA Civ 135)  
10. We accept it is not practical for councils to keep a ‘watching brief’ on whether schools and others are providing all the special educational provision in section F for every pupil with an EHC Plan. We consider councils should be able to demonstrate appropriate oversight in gathering information to fulfil their legal duty. At a minimum we expect them to have systems in place to: 

• check the special educational provision is in place when a new or amended EHC Plan is issued or there is a change in educational placement; 
• check the provision at least annually during the EHC review process; and 
• quickly investigate and act on complaints or concerns raised that the provision is not in place at any time. 

11. The council must arrange for the EHC Plan to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date. The council must complete the review within 12 months of the first EHC Plan and within 12 months of any later reviews. The annual review begins with consulting the child’s parents or the young person and the educational placement. A review meeting must then take place. Following the review meeting the council must issue a decision to either amend, maintain or cease to maintain the EHC Plan. This must happen within four weeks of the meeting. (Section 20(10) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.176) 
12. If the council decides not to amend an EHC Plan or decides to cease to maintain it, it must inform the child’s parents or the young person of their right to appeal the decision to the tribunal.
13. Where the council proposes to amend an EHC Plan, the law says it must send the child’s parent or the young person a copy of the existing (non-amended) Plan and an accompanying notice providing details of the proposed amendments, including copies of any evidence to support the proposed changes. (Section 22(2) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.194). Case law sets out this should happen within four weeks of the date of the review meeting. Case law also found councils must issue the final amended EHC Plan within a further eight weeks.
14. If the child’s parents or the young person disagrees with the decision to cease the EHC Plan, the council must continue to maintain the EHC Plan until the time has passed for bringing an appeal, or when an appeal has been registered, until it is concluded.
15. The Council’s complaint procedure says it would respond to a complaint within 20 working days.

What happened

16. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
17. Mr Y has an EHC Plan. The Council last issued a final EHC plan in September 2023. Miss X contacted the Council in late 2023 asking for a tutor.
18. Miss X said she contacted the Council several times during 2024 to ask about provision. She asked for an urgent review in August 2024.
19. Miss X complained to the Council in January 2025. She complained the Council had ignored request for support and Mr Y had not received the support detailed in the EHC Plan. The Council apologised for poor communication and said it would review the EHC Plan within four weeks.
20. The Council reviewed the EHC Plan in May 2025. The Council agreed to amend the EHC Plan and sent an amended draft plan at the end of May 2025.
21. Miss X chased the Council for a response to her complaint in August 2025.
22. The Council issued an updated final EHC Plan in September 2025.
23. Miss X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Miss X would like the Council to acknowledge what has gone wrong.
24. In response to my enquiries the Council accepted its record keeping was inadequate and communication fell short of standards families should expect. The Council accepted the unreasonable delay in completing the annual review. The Council confirmed Mr Y missed provision since January 2024 and offered a remedy.

My findings

EHC Plan provision

25. When the Council issued Mr Y’s EHC Plan, it had a duty to secure the special educational provision in the plan (Section 42 Children and Families Act). The Council was aware Mr Y was not attending a setting from late 2023, so was not receiving the provision in the EHC Plan.
26. The Ombudsman takes the view that councils must abide by the statutory and legislative requirements under the SEN legislation and guidance. The Council accepted, in its response to my enquiries, it had not ensured Mr Y received the provision detailed in his EHC Plan from January 2024 to August 2025, 20 months. The Council’s failure to ensure Mr Y received the provision in the plan is fault. 
27. In response to my enquiries, the Council offered a monthly payment of £450 per month of missed education in the EHC Plan, for 20 months, a total of £9,000. This is in line with our guidance on remedies and is a suitable offer.
28. The Council also offered to remedy 36 sessions of missed therapeutic provision since January 2024 totalling £2,160. This is in line with our guidance on remedies and is a suitable offer.

Annual review

29. Paragraph 11 details the law requires the Council to review the EHC Plan every year. The Council did not review the plan in 2024. The EHC Plan was not updated to fully reflect Mr Y’s needs. This is fault, frustrating appeal rights to the Tribunal.

Communication

30. In response to my enquiries, the Council accepted communication fell short of the standard families should expect. This is fault, frustrating Miss X.

Complaint handling

31. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it could not find evidence of a complaint in January 2025. I have seen evidence of a complaint from January 2025 titled “complaint regarding failure to provide adequate academic and mental health support” for Mr Y. The Council also responded to this document agreeing to review the EHC Plan. I have seen no evidence the Council responded to the complaint. This is fault, frustrating Miss X.
32. The Council accepted the fault in this case distressed, frustrated and caused uncertainty for Miss X. The Council offered a £500 remedy for this injustice. This is in line with our guidance on remedies and is a suitable offer.

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Action

33. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Miss X and Mr Y by the fault I have identified, the Council will take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Miss X and Mr Y for not ensuring Mr Y received the provision in his EHC Plan, not reviewing the plan, poor communication and poor complaint handling. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Miss X the £500 it offered to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by not reviewing Mr Y’s EHC Plan, poor communication and poor complaint handling.
• Pay Miss X the £11,160 it offered to for not ensuring Mr Y received the education and provision detailed in his EHC Plan for 20 months. This money should be used for Mr Y’s benefit.
• Provide guidance to relevant officers to remind them of the importance of accurate record keeping.
34. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

35. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Miss X and Mr Y.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman