Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to notify her it had not paid exam fees relating to her daughter’s college course. Ms X said the Council’s actions caused avoidable distress and frustration to herself and her daughter. We found fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to provide an apology and a financial remedy to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council failed to notify her it had not paid exam fees relating to her daughter’s college course, despite agreeing to make payment. Ms X said the Council’s actions caused avoidable distress and frustration to herself and her daughter. She would like the Council to acknowledge the harm caused and for it to improve its services so that families receive appropriate support.
2. Ms X also complained the Council did not provide the support specified in her daughter’s Education, Health and Care Plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have exercised discretion to investigate the complaint referred to in paragraph one dating back to 2023. This is because Ms X only became aware of the issues relating to this complaint in early 2025.
7. I have not investigated the complaint referred to in paragraph two because this complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion. Ms X was aware of the provision specified by the Education, Health and Care Plan in June 2023 but did not complain about a lack of provision until February 2025.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.
10. 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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What I found

Education, Health and Care Plans

11. A child or young person with special educational needs (SEN) may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This sets out the child’s or young person’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
12. The council has a duty to make sure the child or young person receives the special educational provision set out in the 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.
13. Where a child or young person moves to another local authority, the ‘old’ authority must transfer the EHC Plan to the ‘new’ authority. The old authority must transfer the EHC Plan to the new authority on the day of the move, unless the old authority has not been provided with 15 working days’ notice of the move. In these circumstances, the old authority must transfer the EHC Plan within 15 working days beginning with the day on which it became aware. (Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, 9.157)

Personal budgets

14. A Personal Budget is the amount of money the council has identified it needs to pay to secure the provision in a child or young person’s EHC Plan. One way that councils can deliver a Personal Budget is through direct payments. These are cash payments made to the child’s parent or the young person so they can commission the provision in the EHC Plan themselves.

What happened

15. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
16. The Council issued Ms X’s daughter, Miss Y, with an EHC Plan in June 2023. The plan acknowledged Miss Y’s diagnosis of autism, chronic low mood and social anxiety, and that Miss Y had sat her GCSE exams at home. The EHC Plan set out the SEN provision to be provided to Miss Y and acknowledged that Miss Y wanted to study for A levels via online learning.
17. In November 2023, the Council contacted an online learning college, College A, to arrange online A level courses for Miss Y. College A confirmed it could invoice the Council directly for the courses.
18. On 23 November 2023, the Council emailed Ms X and Miss Y to confirm it had agreed to provide funding for Miss Y’s A level courses and associated exam fees.
19. Miss Y emailed the Council on 25 November 2023. She said it was her understanding that College A would not accept payment from the Council, and that she would need to make a direct payment to the college for the course fees. Miss Y asked the Council to provide her with a direct payment if this was the case.
20. The Council replied on 29 November 2023. It said it had liaised with College A who had confirmed it accepted payment for the courses directly from the local authority. The Council said it had agreed to pay Miss Y’s exam fees but that it understood this payment could be arranged at a later time.
21. Ms X and Miss Y moved house at about this time, to an address outside the Council’s area.
22. Ms X asked the Council for an update in January 2024. The Council apologised for the delays in progressing the online education but confirmed it had approved funding for the courses and the exam fees.
23. The Council emailed Ms X on 5 February 2024. It said College A needed some further information regarding Miss Y, including her date of birth and address. The Council asked Ms X for her permission to share this information with College A.
24. Ms X replied on the same day to provide the requested information. Ms X told the Council she had moved to an address outside the Council’s area and asked the Council to only share this information where necessary, as she wanted to keep the address as private as possible.
25. The Council emailed Ms X on 15 February 2024 to tell her that College A had received payment.
26. On 11 March 2024, the Council transferred its SEN file regarding Miss Y to the ‘new’ council, Council B.

What happened next

27. On 24 January 2025, Ms X emailed the Council. She said College A had recently told her the Council had not paid Miss Y’s exam fees, despite previously agreeing to pay this cost.
28. The Council replied on 29 January 2025. It said it had not paid the exam fees when it had worked on Miss Y’s case because they were not due at that time. It said once Miss Y moved to a different area, it expected Council B to pick up any further work required; in this case, the payment of the exam fees. The Council recommended that Ms X contact Council B regarding this matter.
29. Ms X complained to the Council on 10 February 2025. She said she had recently found out from College A that the Council had not paid Miss Y’s exam fees, despite it previously approving these payments. Ms X said the Council had not told her it had not paid these fees and its communication with her had been dreadful. Ms X also complained that virtually none of the support specified in Miss Y’s EHC Plan had been adhered to. She said Miss Y had previously made attempts on her life and the difficulties experienced by trying to negotiate the Council’s systems had caused additional stress.
30. The Council acknowledged Ms X’s concerns on 13 February 2025 and responded on 12 March 2025. It said that having made initial enquiries, Ms X needed to raise her concerns with Council B.
31. Ms X replied on the same day and said she was considering a complaint against Council B as a separate issue. Ms X clarified that her complaint regarding the non-payment of exam fees and the failure to adhere to the EHC Plan was against the Council.
32. Ms X emailed the Council again on 15 April 2025 to request an update. She said it had been almost five weeks since she had emailed her complaint.
33. The Council replied on 29 April 2025 and apologised for not responding sooner. The Council said it did not secure exams that far in advance where it is not clear if or when the young person with SEN will be sitting an exam. It said the Council made arrangements as close to the date as it could, so they are right for the young person at the time. The Council said it no longer held a duty to secure the contents of the EHC Plan because Miss Y had moved to a new area. It said Council B now held that duty.
34. Ms X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s response and brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

35. Ms X complained the Council failed to notify her it had not paid the exam fees, despite agreeing to do so. Ms X said that Council B has now agreed to pay the fees.
36. In its response to our enquiries, the Council confirmed it made no payments for the exam fees. It said although it approved the payment, it was not commissioned because it was a two-year course. The Council acknowledged it should have explained to Ms X that it did not pay for the exam fees.
37. I acknowledge and agree with the Council’s comments. It is positive the Council has now identified it should have communicated with Ms X about what it had and had not paid for. Nevertheless, the lack of communication with Ms X regarding this issue at the time is fault. The injustice to Miss Y is avoidable distress and uncertainty regarding the payment of the exam fees.

The transfer of Miss Y’s EHC Plan

38. Where a child or young person moves to another local authority, and the ‘old’ authority is not given 15 working days’ notice of the move, the old authority must transfer the EHC Plan to the ‘new’ authority within 15 working days from the date on which it became aware of the move.
39. In this case, Ms X did not give the Council 15 working days’ notice prior to her moving to a different area. As a result, the Council should have transferred Miss Y’s EHC Plan to Council B within 15 working days from the date Ms X told it about the move, (5 February 2024).
40. The Council transferred Miss Y’s EHC Plan to Council B on 11 March 2024. This is more than 15 working days after it became aware of the move and is therefore not in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice. The Council’s failure to transfer Miss Y’s EHC Plan to Council B within the specified timeframe is fault.
41. The Council acknowledges it has no record of informing Council B of its agreement regarding the payment of Miss Y’s course fees and exam fees. It says if it had informed Council B, it would have explained it had paid for the course fees, but the exam fees remained unresolved.
42. The Council should have notified Council B of its agreement to fund the exam fees when it transferred Miss Y’s EHC Plan, and that these fees were unresolved. This is because this agreement was part of the Council’s consideration of the SEN provision for Miss Y.
43. The Council’s failure to notify Council B of this is therefore a failure to transfer relevant information regarding Miss Y’s agreed SEN provision. This is fault causing avoidable distress and anxiety to Ms X and Miss Y. The injustice to Miss Y is also uncertainty about whether the exam fees would be paid for, and whether she would be able to sit her exams.

The Council’s complaint handling

44. The Council’s complaints procedure says the Council will provide a response to complaints within 20 working days.
45. Ms X emailed the Council on 12 March 2025 and clarified that her complaint was against the Council, and was separate to any complaint made against Council B.
46. The Council provided its complaint response on 29 April 2025. This is more than 20 working days after Ms X made her complaint. I acknowledge the Council apologised for not responding sooner to Ms X. Nevertheless, the delay in the Council’s complaint handling is fault causing avoidable time and trouble to Ms X in following up on her complaint.
47. When someone has suffered an injustice, we try to put them back in the position they would have been had that error not occurred. Our focus is on restoring services that have been denied and taking practical steps to put things right. Where that is not possible, we will try to think of remedies that acknowledge the impact of the fault identified.
48. When we decide an organisation needs to learn from this fault to prevent likely injustice to others in the future from similar fault, we can recommend actions it needs to take. We call this a service improvement.
49. I acknowledge the Council is undergoing a significant transformation programme regarding its SEN service and has created an action plan to improve its service in this area. As part of the transformation programme, the Council is carrying out a review of its statutory duties, end-to-end processes and operational responsibilities connected to EHC Plans. This includes the development of Standard Operating Procedures and guidance for staff, including expectations around the timely transfer of all relevant information when an EHC Plan moves to another authority.
50. As a result, we have not made additional service improvement recommendations in this case because we are overseeing the Council’s wider SEND transformation programme, which includes actions on the issues identified.

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Action

51. To address the injustice to Ms X and Miss Y, the Council has agreed to take the following action with one month of the final decision:
1. Provide an apology to Ms X and Miss Y. 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;
2. Make a symbolic payment of £200 to Miss Y in recognition of the distress, anxiety and uncertainty caused by the fault identified. This amount is in accordance with our published guidance on remedies, and
3. Make a further symbolic payment of £100 to Ms X in recognition of the time and trouble caused by the fault in the Council’s complaint handling.
52. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

53. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above action to remedy the injustice and I have therefore concluded my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman