Worcestershire County Council (25 000 031)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 16 Jun 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed Occupational Therapy. This is because the Council has accepted fault, apologised, and said it will ensure the provision is delivered. An investigation by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response or achieve a different outcome.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms X, complained her son did not receive the Occupational Therapy in his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) between December 2024 and March 2025. Ms X says the Council was slow to find a replacement therapist and communication was poor.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
- further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
- there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In response to Ms X’s complaint the Council accepted the Occupational Therapy had been missed. It said there had been a delay in sourcing an alternative therapist and apologised. The Council referred to staff shortages and confirmed it had appointed an alternative therapist. It said it expected Ms X’s child to receive all their expected therapy.
- While I understand Ms X’s frustrations, we will not start an investigation into her complaint. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response or achieve a significantly different outcome. It is unlikely we would recommend any further remedies and so an investigation is not warranted.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely our involvement would add anything to the Council’s response or achieve a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman