Summary: We have upheld part of this complaint about delay in issuing Miss X’s child’s Education Health and Care Plan. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X and her child. We will not investigate part of her complaint about the content of the plan or locating a school for her child, because Miss X has a right of appeal about this and it would be reasonable to expect her to use it.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about a series of delays and poor communication from the Council following the annual review of her child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Miss X said this has caused injustice to her and to her child. She also complained the Council has not identified a school for her child. She said there has been an impact on her child’s education and on her mental well-being.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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.
4. 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)
5. 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.

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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. Miss X complained about a delay in amending her child’s EHC Plan. The EHC plan review meeting took place in February 2024. The Council did not issue a final EHC Plan until November 2024, which was a delay of 6 months.
9. Miss X complained about poor communication from the Council throughout 2023 and 2024. The Council has acknowledged numerous occasions when it did not meet communication expectations. The Council has apologised to Miss X and said it has issued guidance to staff as a reminder of its expectations.
10. If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault because of the delay in issuing a final EHC plan, and the poor communication it has acknowledged.
11. We therefore asked to the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by agreeing to pay a symbolic financial remedy of £500 to resolve the complaint early. To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will contact Miss X by 29 July 2025 to put things right.
12. Miss X also complained about delay in identifying a school for her child. A school was not identified in the final amended EHC Plan. We will not investigate this part of the complaint because there is a right of appeal to the Tribunal about this and it is reasonable to expect Miss X to use her appeal right, particularly because parliament set it up for this purpose.

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Final decision

13. We have upheld part of this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Miss X and her child. We will not investigate the final EHC Plan, because Miss X has a right of appeal about the contents of the EHC Plan and it would be reasonable to expect her to use it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman